Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. (BRL)

[surf1944]

Teva in talks to buy Barr at up to $7.5 bln
By Robert Daniel, MarketWatch
Last update: 11:00 a.m. EDT July 17, 2008
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., the Israeli drugmaker, is in talks to buy Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. for as much as $7.5 billion, according to published reports.
That figure would be a nearly 50% premium for the Montvale, N.J., producer of generic and proprietary pharmaceuticals.

Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc

BRL 54.81, +7.99, +17.1%) soared 14% to $53.40 in morning trading. Teva investors were less enthused with the news, pushing down shares a point to $42.05.
Reports of the negotiations appeared in the Israeli dailies Globes and Ha'aretz.
A spokeswoman for Teva (TEVA:

TEVA 41.61, -0.80, -1.9%) wasn't immediately available for comment. The company told the Israeli daily Globes that it does not respond to market speculation.
If the deal goes through, it would be Teva's second major buy of a U.S. generics company in recent years. In 2005, Teva bought Miami-based Ivax Corp. for $7.4 billion. The deal transformed Teva into the world's largest generics maker.
Teva has been busy on the M&A front in 2008 as well. In March, the company said it agreed to acquire Bentley Pharmaceuticals Inc.,

BNT 14.80, -0.01, -0.1%) the Exeter, N.H. drugmaker with a strong presence in Spain.
In addition to marketing generic drugs, Teva also sells Copaxone, a leading treatment for multiple sclerosis. The drug took in $1.7 billion in sales last year.

MNTA 14.32, -0.24, -1.6%) filed an application with the Food and Drug Administration to market a generic version of Copaxone, a first step in what could be a long legal battle for the companies.
Teva responded that it plans to sue Novartis and Momenta for patent infringement, which would essentially put generic Copaxone on hold until the case is resolved. Teva maintains its patents on Copaxone are valid until May 2014.
And in January, the company announced a deal to buy closely-held CoGenesys Inc., which has a biotechnology platform and develops peptide- and protein-based medications.
In a note dated Wednesday, UBS analyst Ricky Goldwasser saw several strategic reasons for Teva to do the deal including giving Teva access to the oral-contraceptive market, adding to its list of potential drug-patent challenges, strengthening the Israeli firm's presence in Central and Eastern Europe and providing efficiencies by eliminating duplicate infrastructure in the U.S.
Excellence Nessuah, an Israeli investment bank, said in a morning note that Teva had net debt on its balance sheet at March 31 of $2.1 billion.
"A potential deal of this size would clearly entail raising more debt and a large equity payment," the firm said. "Investors should also expect post-acquisition write-offs that will likely detract from investors' sentiment."
The firm added that BRL, through the acquisition of Plivia in 2006, "is particularly active in Germany, Croatia, Russia and Poland -- all growth areas where Teva is planning to invest in the coming years." End of Story
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surf's up......crikey