Teva to acquire majority stake in Taiyo

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ:TEVA) will acquire 57% of Japanese generics company Taiyo Pharmaceutical Industry Co. Ltd. (Nagoya, Japan) for $460 million in cash. Teva also plans to offer to acquire the remaining outstanding shares of Taiyo in a deal that Teva said would give Taiyo an enterprise value of $1.3 billion.

Taiyo, which markets over 550 generic products in Japan, reported sales of $530 million in 2010. Teva said the acquisition will help the company reach its 2015 target of $1 billion in sales in Japan ahead of schedule. The deal, which is subject to approval by Taiyo shareholders, is expected to close by the end of the third quarter. Teva said it plans to acquire as much ownership as it can in Taiyo above the original 57% by the close date. Teva was down $0.16 to $49.51 on Monday. ...