Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) is raising the pressure on the management of Mylan (MYL) as Mylan's shareholders consider Teva's bid for the company. Teva reported yesterday that it had bought a 1.35% stake in Mylan at prices ranging between $69 and $71 per share. Mylan's current market cap is about $34 billion, so that Teva's stake is worth some $450 million.
“Acquiring shares of Mylan underscores our commitment to consummating a transaction as soon as possible,” Teva said in a statement.
Teva has bid $82 per share for Mylan in cash and shares, making the potential deal worth more than $40 billion. Mylan's board has rejected the bid. Complicating the picture, Mylan has itself made a $33 billion bid for US-Israeli pharmaceuticals company Perrigo (PRGO) that Perrigo has rejected.
Mylan chairman Robert Coury told investors three weeks ago that he was still of the view that an acquisition by Teva was unwelcome, and remarked that Mylan might even at some stage buy Teva. In a stinging letter to Teva CEO Erez Vigodman containing his response to Teva's bid, Coury wrote, among other things, "While I recognize that you are fairly new to your position, I cannot ignore the fact that you were present on Teva’s Board during some of the company’s most turbulent and 'dysfunctional' times."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 28, 2015
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