Relax, Teva and Allergan investors. The companies are on track to close their whopper knockoffs deal in the first half of June or so, one analyst says.
According to Bernstein’s Ronny Gal, Teva has now sold off all the already-marketed products it needed to jettison in order to close its $40.5 billion buy of Allergan’s generics unit. It’s started casting off pipeline assets, too, and once it’s officially selected buyers for all of its candidates, it’ll submit a data package to the FTC and the body will vote on approving the transaction. Timeline: three to four weeks, Gal figures.
Shareholders have been antsy since the pair announced the acquisition last summer. Teva, for one, needs the extra revenue to boost its sagging generics unit, especially now that generic Copaxone is taking its toll on branded sales, too. And Allergan, who recently saw its Pfizer buyout scuttled by the U.S. Treasury, is eager to get the cash in its hands and start bulking up again through its own buys.
And news of a delay on the closing–initially scheduled for Q1 of this year–has only stoked their fears. “We continue to be surprised by how much play the conspiracy theories around the deal have gotten,” Gal wrote.
As he’s reassured investors, though, the holdup is just the FTC. The agency still has 5 or 6 pipeline products it needs to make decisions on, Gal noted, meaning one more wave of sales could follow.
Meanwhile, across the pond, the companies are good to go. Last month, Teva nabbed an expedited antitrust approval after agreeing to sell off the bulk of Allergan’s current generics business in the U.K. and Ireland; discard its own business in Iceland; and part ways with molecules in 24 other countries in Europe.
By Carly Helfand
Source: Fierce Pharma
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