(Reuters) – Generic drugmaker Mylan Inc’s (MYL.O) chief executive said on Thursday that acquiring Perrigo Co (PRGO.N) was not a must and that it has other options should Perrigo successfully fend off Mylan’s $34 billion hostile offer.
However, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch said in an interview that getting the Perrigo deal done remains a top priority and that she still believes it can be completed by the end of this year.
If more than half of Mylan’s shareholders vote for the Perrigo transaction Aug. 28, the company will take its offer directly to Perrigo shareholders.
“With the Teva overhang and noise gone and Abbott, our largest shareholder, committing their stake to the Perrigo deal, that goes a long way to getting us to that 50.1 percent,” Bresch said in an interview. Abbott Laboratories holds more than 14 percent of Mylan shares.
Mylan, which itself had been fighting a takeover attempt by larger rival Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA.TA), got its wish to remain independent when Teva last week decided instead to buy Allergan’s (AGN.N) generics business for $40.5 billion.
Perrigo on Wednesday again said the $205 per share offer from Mylan substantially undervalues it, but Bresch said Mylan has no plan to sweeten its bid.
“We believe we have a fair and compelling offer on the table, so we’re not looking to change anything about the terms,” Bresch said.
“We’re as committed to it as we have ever been. We believe it is the right next transaction for our company,” Bresch said.
Ireland-based Perrigo would give Mylan over-the-counter consumer products, generic topical medicines and animal health offerings.
Bresch said Mylan, which is headquartered in the Netherlands after a tax inversion deal involving Abbott, has many options should the deal fall through.
“We like Perrigo, but we don’t have to have Perrigo,” Bresch told analysts earlier Thursday on a call to discuss quarterly results
“We’ve been actively looking at many targets out there,” she said of Mylan’s aim to become a leading consolidator in the generic drugs industry.
“Perrigo accelerates that for us,” she said. “We believe there’s a lot of different assets that can get us there. There are things for sale all over the globe.”
One asset that could become available is Pfizer’s (PFE.N) established products business. The drugmaker will decide by late 2016 whether to sell that unit.
“We absolutely would look at it,” Bresch said.
Mylan shares were up 1.1 percent at $55.21 on Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Bill Berkrot and Caroline Humer; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Bernard Orr)
