Buffett boosts Teva with $358m investment

Warren Buffett Photo: ASAP Creative
Warren Buffett Photo: ASAP Creative

Teva's share price is soaring after Berkshire Hathaway reported buying a 1.8% stake in the Israeli pharmaceutical company.

Legendary US investor Warren Buffett has given a vote of confidence to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) by investing $358 million in the ailing Israeli drugmaker. The "Oracle of Omaha's" investment was revealed in the quarterly report of Berkshire Hathaway, the company that he controls. The news that Buffett had taken a 1.8% stake in Teva sent the Israeli company's share price up 8.64% in afterhours trading on the NYSE to $21, after the share had risen 4.37% on Wall Street yesterday to $19.33, giving a market cap of $19.64 billion.

Last week Teva published its fourth quarter and full year 2017 report, which saw its share price fall after it lowered its 2018 revenue guidance to between $18.3 billion to $18.8 billion, recorded goodwill impairments in 2017 totaling $17.1 billion, mainly with respect to its US generics unit and reported a 25% fall in fourth quarter Copaxone revenue in the US from $829 million to $622 million following the introduction of generic competition.

This is by no means Buffett's first investment in Israel. In 2006 he bought 80% of Israeli toolmaker Iscar for $4 billion and in 2013 acquired the remaining 20% of shares for a further $1 billion.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 15, 2018

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2018

Warren Buffett Photo: ASAP Creative
Warren Buffett Photo: ASAP Creative
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