Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc, the largest publicly listed drug maker in Canada, is in discussion to purchase generics pharmaceutical firm Actavis Inc for US$13 billion. The said discussion and buyout was first reported in the Wall Street Journal, quoting sources familiar with the matter but spoke on condition of anonymity.
The companies are on worklng on to draft an all-stock deal but an apparent opposition is forming within the Actavis board of directors. The two firms are still working on forging a deal, despite the apparent revolt.
Valeant had previously in February that it was planning to undertake more acquisitions and it remains open to negotiate on what it terms as a 'merger of equals.' In the past three months, the share values of Actavis have risen by 12% in the past three months resulting in a market capitalization of US$12.9 billion.
Actavis for its part is the third biggest generics pharmaceutical firm. It had undergone a rebranding last January after its purchase of Actavis. Its former name was Watson.
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