News March
Watson Pharmaceuticals to Acquire Andrx for $1.9 Bln
13th March 2006
Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it will acquire Andrx Corp. for
$1.9 billion to become the third- largest maker of generic drugs.
Watson will pay $25 for each outstanding share of Andrx and finance
the transaction with cash reserves and loans, net of cash acquired
from Andrx, Watson said in a statement today. Andrx specializes
in controlled-released drugs, including generic versions of Schering-Plough
Corp's Claritin-D 24 and GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Paxil.
While the two companies have more than 60 applications for generic
drugs in the regulatory pipeline, Andrx said in September its applications
are on hold after deficiencies were found at a company plant. The
sale, the second major one this year involving companies that make
generics, comes as governments and insurance providers are pushing
patients toward lower-priced generic medicines to cut health-care
costs.
Source
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=amoyr.fNRWjA
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