BioCentury
ARTICLE | Company News

Actavis, Forest Laboratories deal

February 24, 2014 8:00 AM UTC

Generics company Actavis will acquire specialty pharma Forest Laboratories in a cash and stock deal that the companies said values Forest at about $89.48 per Forest share, or about $25 billion. The price is a 25% premium to Forest's close of $71.39 on Feb. 14, the last trading day before the deal was announced. Under the proposed deal, Forest shareholders will receive 0.3306 shares of Actavis stock and $26.04 in cash for each Forest share. The transaction includes a mechanism for Forest shareholders to choose an all-stock or all-cash consideration. The companies said the deal will create a specialty pharma with a "balanced portfolio" of branded and generic drugs and strong global commercial capabilities. Actavis reported 2013 revenues of $8.7 billion. Forest reported $2.6 billion in revenues for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2013. The combined company will be led by Paul Bisaro, Actavis' CEO and chairman. Brenton Saunders, Forest's president, CEO and a director, will join Actavis' board, along with two other Forest directors.

Saunders took the reins at Forest on Oct. 1, 2013, and in short order unveiled a host of new initiatives, including this month's $2.9 billion acquisition of gastrointestinal company Aptalis Holdings Inc. (see BioCentury, Feb. 10). ...