Actavis Plc said it will be selling its generic drug operations in seven countries in Western Europe to Aurobindo Pharma Ltd, Bloomberg reported. The Dublin-based company will be divesting the businesses to the India-based company and concentrate its efforts on other regions like that of Southeast Asia, the report said.
In a statement, Actavis said its generic products, marketing authorizations and dossier license rights in Belgium, Germany, Italy, France, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands will be bought by Aurobindo. In a separate statement, Aurobindo said the acquisition cost for the deal is expected to reach around €30 million or $41 million. The Indian pharmaceutical firm will be financing the purchase with its own cash, the statement said.
Actavis Pharma President Sigurdur Oli Olafsson said in the statement, "This transaction will permit Actavis to focus management time and resources to support accelerated investment in driving faster growth of other markets, including Central and Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia."
Earlier this week, Actavis said that it was putting an end to its Chinese operations because of the challenging business climate there, Bloomberg reported. In an interview with the news agency, Actavis Chief Executive Officer Paul Bisaro said that even if there are over 1.3 billion potential customers in China, the government has made doing business in the country difficult. Actavis has already divested one business there and discussions are underway to offload another, the report said.
Aurobindo said that the acquisition of Actavis will give the company a "readymade hospital sales infrastructure" where the Hyderabad-based company will be able to launch its own injectable and specialty portfolio throughout the countries in Western Europe, the report said.
Aurobindo agreed to a 57% stake purchase of Silicon Life Sciences Pvt in August from a Trident Chemphar Ltd-led group for an undisclosed amount, the report said.
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