Mylan Moves to Acquire Perrigo

Mylan is offering to acquire Irish drugmaker Perrigo for $205 per share of stock.

The proposal, announced last week, would create a company with a strong presence in many global markets for its generic and OTC drug products.

In a nonbinding letter delivered to Perrigo, Mylan Chairman Robert Coury said the combined company would have critical mass in generics, OTC drugs and specialty products with a deep reach into developed and emerging markets worldwide. He also cited an “unrivaled” combined manufacturing platform and strong R&D capabilities, especially in difficult-to-formulate products.

Each company produces hundreds of generic medicines, from topical creams to antibiotics to painkillers to antiretrovirals. Both have been active recently, with Mylan acquiring Abbott’s non-U.S. branded generics businesses and reincorporating in the Netherlands and Perrigo buying Omega Pharma for $4.1 billion.

Mylan’s offer to Perrigo shareholders is more than 25 percent above Perrigo’s closing share price of $163.73 on April 3, the U.S. drugmaker says.

Perrigo said its board will review the proposal. — Lena Freund