Teva Reiterates Offer To Buy Mylan

(RTTNews) - Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) on Wednesday reiterated its offer to buy Mylan N.V. (MYL) for $82.00 per share.

In a communique to Mylan, the Israeli generic drug maker said a merger would benefit both companies' shareholders and also provide synergies and strategic depth, while brushing aside Mylan's antitrust concerns.

"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...," said Teva CEO Erez Vigodman.

On April 21, Israel-based Teva proposed to buy Mylan for $82.00 per share, comprising about 50 percent cash and 50 percent stock, valuing the deal at about $40 billion. Teva also said Mylan would need to back away from its bid for Perrigo (PRGO).

Soon after, Mylan rejected Teva's offer, and said it is committed to pursue an acquisition of Perrigo. Mylan said that Teva's offer includes low-quality, high-risk Teva stock, and would expose Mylan to a problematic culture and leadership with poor record of delivering shareholder value.

The Dutch company also said Teva's offer carries significant antitrust risks and would result in massive consolidation of supply and manufacturing, creating implications for pricing power and shortages.

Mylan's rejection marked a series of unsuccessful takeover efforts involving it, Teva and Perrigo, as companies clamor for deals that would give them a foothold in the generic drug space.

Earlier today, Mylan again sweetened its offer to buy Perrigo for about $35 billion, but Perrigo rejected the bid.

Mylan, with about 25,000 employees, had $929.4 million in net income and $7.7 billion in revenue in 2014.