Mylan invites Pfizer and Novartis to consider taking over (translated)
US pharmaceutical group Mylan is not for sale to its Israeli competitor Teva, but Mylan has invited US pharmaceutical company Pfizer and Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis to look into a takeover of the group, the Financieele Dagblad reported, citing an interview with Mylan CEO Robert Coury.
In Apri, Teva announced an interest in acquiring Mylan. This led to a battle within the Dutch financial services sector to obtain the legal advisory role for the deal, the item said.
Coury, however, said he does not think Teva is a suitable candidate to acquire Mylan. The only way Teva could potentially fit into the deal is if Mylan is successful in acquiring its Irish market peer Perrigo, for which a bid was made in April; and if Pfizer, which has up to USD 74bn in profits parked in foreign accounts, shows interest in an acquisition of Mylan.
Coury also said he thinks Novartis would be a great, strategically suitable candidate to take over Mylan, because he believes in the company's CEO, Joseph Jimenez. Coury said Jimenez is one of the most balanced and strategically strong CEOs he knows within the pharma sector.
Interested private equity groups do not fit Mylan's culture because they would be too focused on trying to boost profit, Coury said.
Coury is an advocate of the Dutch stakeholder model, in which it is not just about the interests of the shareholders, the report noted.
This is not the first time Pfizer has been tipped as a potential bidder for Mylan. In November 2014, analysts said Mylan would be a good target for Pfizer.
Mylan, which reported a turnover of USD 10bn in 2014, has been registered in the Netherlands since February and has set up a Dutch protection foundation in April. This could be beneficial for Pfizer, which has been hunting for a so-called tax-inversion since last year, to lower its tax rates.