Sector News

Categories

Borderless Insights

Image
Negotiating Terms with a New Employer
Image
Beyond Flowers and Platitudes: Reclaiming the Essence of International Women’s Day
Image
Visionary or ‘Stuck-in-the-Mud’? Where are you on Workplace Flexibility?

Want Actavis? Prepare to pay up, CEO says

February 19, 2015
Life sciences
Actavis CEO Brent Saunders expects pharma’s deal wave to continue. But make no mistake, he says: Potential suitors are going to have to pony up a pretty penny if they want to swallow his company.
 
The helmsman of the Dublin drugmaker–which is in the process of merging with Allergan after agreeing to buy the Botox maker for $66 billion–told analysts and investors Wednesday that he foresees “a continued consolidation” in pharma over the next several years, Reuters reports. But when it comes to his company’s role in that consolidation?
 
“I can’t predict what others will do, but I think it will take an awfully large premium to acquire a company this special,” he said.
 
It’s a message to those companies out there that may be looking to make a big splash in the M&A arena–like deal-hungry Pfizer, perhaps. The New York pharma giant is in need of a big buy after shutting down last year’s pursuit of AstraZeneca, and the rumor mill has been buzzing for some time now that it’s got its eye on Actavis to help it accomplish that.
 
As for Actavis’ own pickup action, though, it’ll be a little more subdued, Saunders said. While the company is constantly evaluating “dozens” of small acquisitions that align with its business, in terms of transformational deals, “we are going to take a pause,” he said, as quoted by the news service.
 
That’ll be somewhat of a break from Saunders’ recent deal spree, which sent him from Bausch + Lomb to Forest Labs to Actavis in quick succession. But right now, Actavis is putting its efforts into integrating Allergan and defining the combined company as a high-growth powerhouse with focuses on both branded and generic drugs.
 
“I’m excited about bringing these two companies together because I think we’re really going to have something exciting with this focus on growth pharma to rally around,” he told FiercePharma earlier this month. “I think this company is going to be a company that sets its own tone and does amazing things.”
 
By Carly Helfand
 

comments closed

Related News

April 20, 2024

CureVac and MD Anderson Cancer Center partner to develop new cancer vaccines

Life sciences

CureVac and the University of Texas’s MD Anderson Cancer Center have announced a co-development and licensing agreement to develop novel messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based cancer vaccines. The strategic collaboration will focus on the development of differentiated cancer vaccine candidates in selected haematological and solid tumour indications with high unmet medical needs.

Read more
April 20, 2024

FUJIFILM plans $1.2 billion investment in major US manufacturing facility

Life sciences

FUJIFILM Corporation is planning to invest $1.2 billion to expand the planned FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina, US. This news follows the organisation’s announcement of a $2 billion investment in the facility in March 2021. This additional financial boost totals the investment to over $3.2 billion, FUJIFILM confirmed.

Read more
April 20, 2024

Sanofi cuts staff in Belgium as early-stage research dwindles

Life sciences

Sanofi’s global restructuring and downsizing is now fully underway, with layoffs stretching to the company’s Belgian offices. Belgian newspaper De Tijd reports that 67 employees have been laid off at a site in Ghent and 32 jobs are on the chopping block at Sanofi’s Belgium HQ in Diegem.

Read more
More news

How can we help you?

We're easy to reach