Pliva board sees Barr bid as "fair valuation"

Croatian drugmaker Pliva says that its supervisory board believes that, following discussion with its independent financial advisor Deutsche Bank AG, USA-based Barr Pharmaceuticals' takeover bid of 743 kuna per share, or $2.4 billion in total, represents a fair valuation of the firm. The board also said that the takeover offer is an attractive long-term development path (Marketletters passim).

Pliva stated that Barr envisages that the Zagreb-headquartered firm would be the center of its European business operations, and that its registered office and production facilities should remain in Croatia. Additionally, the Croatian company's board explained that Barr's offer details an expansion of its production facilities with the aim of producing products from the US firm's range, as well as improving regional distribution channels.

Reuters reports that the offer represents a slight premium to that made by rival bidder, Iceland-based generics producer Actavis, which is expected to respond with an improved offer in an effort to trump that from Barr.