The latest chapter in the saga of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.'s (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) $41 billion hostile takeover bid for generic pharmaceutical rival Mylan N.V. has been written by the Israeli company's CEO Erez Vigodman. He has written to Mylan executive chairman Robert Coury who dismissed the bid as "grossly undervaluing" Mylan and claimed Teva was a problematic company.
Vigodman writes, "Given the constructive tenor of our meeting last Friday and subsequent dialogue, it was disappointing that your letter of April 27 adopted such a vastly divergent tone. Your letter paints a fundamentally distorted picture of Teva and ignores its rich heritage, unique culture, industry-leading achievements and contributions that have benefited patients and healthcare systems worldwide, while for years creating substantial long-term value for our stockholders."
Vigodman added, "I firmly believe that our respective stakeholders do not support, or benefit from, mudslinging, mischaracterization, rehashing of history or selective presentation of facts. Instead, I would prefer to return the dialogue to the significant value creation opportunity that a combination of Teva and Mylan represents to the stockholders and other stakeholders of both our companies. My focus has been and will remain on Teva’s deep commitment to consummating a transaction as soon as possible. To that end, we stand ready to engage with Mylan’s Board of Directors in a constructive manner while continuing to pursue antitrust approvals and building upon the very positive interactions with Mylan and Teva stockholders to date.
Vigodman went on to stress that "Teva’s proposal provides premium value for Mylan and its prospects. Our cash and stock offer of $82.00 per share implies a total equity value for Mylan of approximately $43 billion. This provides your stockholders with a 48.3% premium to the unaffected Mylan stock price of $55.31 on March 10, 2015, after which there was widespread speculation of a transaction between Teva and Mylan.
"Summarily rejecting our offer which provides Mylan stockholders with such a significant premium is inconsistent with the responsibilities and obligations of your Board of Directors to Mylan’s stakeholders."
Vigodman also insisted that antitrust issues would not be a barrier to completion of the deal.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 30, 2015
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