On the way to completing the acquisition of Germany's Ratiopharm ahead of schedule, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) unit Teva Canada Ltd. on Friday obtained the approval of the Competition Bureau in Canada for the deal.
The Canadian antitrust regulator told Teva Canada and Ratiopharm's current owner, the Merckle Group, that it they will not challenge the transaction and the companies were free to close without competition-related risk. Teva said that the approval would allow it to fully realize the expected benefits of this merger in Canada.
Teva is the world's largest generic drug company. It operates in Canada through Teva Canada, which was created from the acquisition of Novopharm Ltd. a decade ago. Ratiopharm is one of Europe's largest generic drug companies and also has important business in Canada. Ratiopharm began operating in Canada in 2002, and has 400 employees in the country, and annual sales there of $300 million.
Last week, in its financial report for the second quarter, Teva said that it was bringing forward the closing of the Ratiopharm acquisition, probably to the third quarter of the year.
Teva's share price rose 3.6% on Nasdaq on Friday to $48.85, and rose 1.7% on the TASE today to NIS 186.60.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 1, 2010
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