WSJ: Teva In Talks To Buy Allergan's Generic Drug Unit For About $45 Bln

(RTTNews) - Israeli generic drug maker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) is in talks to acquire Botox maker Allergan plc's (AGN) generic drug business for about $45 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter. A deal could reportedly be announced as early as Monday.

According to the WSJ report, the Allergan unit would be spun off and combined with Teva, the world's biggest seller of generic medicines with a market value of $52 billion. Allergan's drug distribution business, which generates $462 million in quarterly net revenue, might also be part of the deal.

Teva has been seeking to acquire Mylan N.V. (MYL) for $40 billion but has been unsuccessful so far, even as Mylan pursues Ireland-based peer Perrigo Co. Plc. (PRGO).

Companies in the health care industry are increasingly seeking to consolidate to better take advantage of rising revenues from the Affordable Care Act.

Health insurer Anthem Inc. (ANTM) said Friday that it agreed to acquire Cigna Corp. (CI) in a cash and stock transaction valued at $54.2 billion on an enterprise basis. Health insurer Aetna (AET) agreed in early July to acquire Humana Inc. (HUM) for $37 billion in cash and stock.

Teva is under pressure as its top selling multiple-sclerosis drug called Copaxone, started to face lower-priced competition in the U.S. last month. In June, Sandoz, a Novartis (NVS) company, announced the U.S. launch of Glatopa, the first generic version of Teva's Copaxone.

Allergan was acquired for $70.5 billion by Actavis plc, which adopted the Allergan name as its corporate name in June.

Allergan's generics business develops and markets more than 1,000 generics, branded generics, established brands and over-the-counter or OTC products. The company is the third largest generic manufacturer in the U.S., where it continues to operate as Actavis.

TEVA closed Friday's trading at $61.85, down $0.66 or 1.06 percent on a volume of 1.35 million shares.

AGN closed Friday's regular trading at $308.21 and gained $14.29 or 4.64 percent to $322.50 in after-hours trading.