Procter & Gamble Co’s pharmaceutical unit may be valued at as much as $4 billion and draw bids from Forest Laboratories Inc, Endo Pharmaceutical Holdings Inc and Warner Chilcott Ltd.
The companies may be interested in buying the division or some of its products, said Gary Nachman, an analyst with Leerink Swann & Co in New York. Ali Dibadj, an analyst with Sanford C Bernstein & Co in New York, says “in this depressed market,” the business is worth $3 billion to $4 billion.
“We’ve been waiting for Forest to do a really big deal and they haven’t,” Nachman said. Endo and Warner Chilcott may be interested in P&G’s womens’ health brands, he said.
P&G hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc as the financial adviser for the sale of the unit, according to a person familiar with the agreement. The company, hurt by competition from generic drugs, said in December it would stop investing in new pharmaceuticals. Its main drugs are at least 10 years old and treat bone loss, digestive disorders and women’s health.
P&G spokesman Paul Fox, Goldman spokeswoman Andrea Rachman, and Forest spokesman Frank Murdolo declined to comment.
Warner Chilcott spokeswoman Rochelle Fuhrmann didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Endo, the maker of Lidoderm pain patches, said it is interested in expansion, without commenting on P&G specifically.
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“We have a strategy to expand beyond pain and urology is an attractive market,” said Blaine Davis, a spokesman for Endo. Endo has more than $900 million in cash and short-term investments.
Warner Chillcott may be the most likely bidder because it is seeking to grow its women’s health business and has experience selling medicines that have been on the market for years, Cowen & Co. analyst Ian Sanderson said in a telephone interview from Boston. He also said it would be a good fit for Endo if they could get the financing.
