RANBAXY BIDS ON GERMAN GENERIC COMPANY

Indian generic drugmaker Ranbaxy has confirmed reports it is seeking to acquire a German generic firm.

Ranbaxy has submitted a bid for a German generic pharmaceuticals company, the firm said. "The target company, if acquired, would constitute a significant proportion of [our] net assets, revenues and earnings," Ranbaxy said.

Indian news stories reported that Ranbaxy is believed to have offered as much as $500 million to acquire Germany's Betapharm Arzeniemittel GmbH. Ranbaxy also is close to acquiring Romanian firms Terapia and Sindan, according to a recent Business Standard article.

The firm noted that it is among a number of bidders for the German company. "At this stage, it is not possible for [Ranbaxy] to predict the outcome of the bidding process and [we] may or may not be successful," Ranbaxy said.