Barr, Actavis vie for Croatia's Pliva

Two companies have emerged as lead bidders for Croatian pharmaceuticals maker Pliva.

Izvor: Reuters

Friday, 23.06.2006.

15:35

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Barr, Actavis vie for Croatia's Pliva

Final bids for Pliva, the largest eastern European pharmaceutical firm by sales, are due on Friday, one source said. Actavis, Barr and Pliva could not be immediately reached for comment.

In March, Icelandic generic drugs maker Actavis launched a 1.6 billion dollars bid for Pliva in a move to create the world's third-largest generic drugs company. Actavis later raised its offer to 1.85 billion dollars, but Pliva said the new price still failed fully to reflect its value.

Pliva has hired Deutsche Bank to advise it in choosing the best option, which may include a merger or strategic partnership. Pliva operates in more than 30 countries and sees the generic business, including biotechnology, as its main earnings driver after failing in the proprietary field.

"This deal is coming to a head and looks like Actavis and Barr are neck and neck," said one person familiar with the situation.

Pliva already has a partnership deal with Barr on developing a biogeneric drug aimed at regulating production of white blood cells in cancer patients with neutropenia, a blood disorder induced by chemotherapy.

Media reports previously said private equity fund Permira Holdings and Polish pharmaceuticals producer Polpharma also had weighed offers for Pliva.

The Croatian government owns about 18 per cent of Pliva and has previously said it planned to keep its stake.

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