Pfizer Inc, the world’s biggest drug maker, is bidding as much as 3 billion euros ($4.08 billion) for German generic-drug maker Ratiopharm GmbH, said two people with knowledge of the talks.
Pfizer could make a presentation to Ratiopharm’s management as early as this week to support its bid, said the two people, who declined to be identified because they aren’t authorised to comment on the process. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and Actavis Group hf are also bidding, and Ratiopharm is expected to decide by the end of the month, said one of the people. A third person knowledgeable about the process confirmed the timing.
Acquiring Ratiopharm may expand Pfizer’s generic business to about $11 billion, nearing the size of Teva, the world’s largest generic drugmaker with $13.9 billion in 2009 revenue.
A purchase of the Ulm-based company, which is being sold by the Merckle family to repay debt, would be the biggest generic-drug deal since Teva bought Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc for $7.4 billion in 2008. Ratiopharm’s biggest competitors in Germany are Swiss drug maker Novartis AG’s Hexal and Stada Arzneimittel AG.
Pfizer doesn’t comment on rumours or speculation, said Joan Campion, a company spokeswoman. The decision about Ratiopharm may come down to which buyer is willing to preserve the most of the company’s German operations, said one person.
Ludwig Merckle, the son of founder Adolf Merckle, is seeking to repay debt amassed by his father who committed suicide a year ago after making wrong-way bets on the stock market.
The winner would gain three of the top 10 generic products by volume in the German retail drug market and five of the top 10 generic drugs sold to hospitals, according to data from IMS Health.