Barr reaffirms commitment to HANFA takeover process

In the ongoing saga of who will buy Croatian generic drugmaker Pliva (Marketletters passim), US contender Barr Pharmaceuticals says that its board of directors has unanimously reaffirmed its commitment to the official Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (HANFA) takeover process for the Zagreb-headquartered firm. Barr's board directed management to correct market misinformation regarding the US firm's ability to compete for the acquisition of Pliva and authorized management to utilize all available means to expedite the acquisition if Barr's official tender is approved by the HANFA.

"The board felt that it was imperative for all shareholders to understand that Barr is fully committed to the combination of our two companies, and that management is authorized to use all available means to expedite the orderly completion of the tender offer in accordance with Croatian takeover law and [the] HANFA's instructions," said the firm's chief executive, Bruce Downey. "Board members also expressed concern that Pliva shareholders may be confused by market misinformation about Barr's ability to compete, while the tender offer process restricts Barr's ability to proactively speak or act to address issues related to specifics of its offer for Pliva," he said.

"Shareholders are being led to believe that the process is already over," Mr Downey continued. "In fact, the process is far from being over, and the competition for ownership of Pliva is just beginning, and will commence in earnest once Actavis [the other bidder for the Croatian company] has submitted its official HANFA notification and confirming bid. Once this step has been completed, shareholders will have greater clarity into the true value of both bids, and we strongly encourage investors to wait and follow HANFA approved processes before committing to sell shares," he said.