Teva Pharmaceutical set to acquire Novopharm of Canada for $262 million

Having expressed its interest in the firm earlier this year(Marketletter October 25), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has signed a letter of intent to acquire Novopharm of Canada from Dan Family Holdings. The Israeli company is swapping approximately 4.8 million of its ordinary shares, some 7% of its capital, which gives the deal a value of around $262 million. Two-thirds of the shares issued to Dan Family would take the form of non-voting exchangeable shares in a newly-formed Canadian subsidiary of Teva.

The acquisition will not include Novopharm Biotech, and Novopharm's majority stake in that company is to be spun off to Dan Family. It is also expected that Novopharm will have sold off its over-the-counter businesses prior to its acquisition by Teva.

Drawn-out deal