News from Watson

[Sherlock]

PARSIPPANY, N.J. (AP) - Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. is buying another
generic drugmaker, Switzerland's Actavis Group, for about $5.6 billion
in a move that will make Watson in the world's third-biggest generic
drugmaker.

Watson, which has seen its profits surge since it started selling an
authorized generic version of cholesterol blockbuster Lipitor in
December, is now No. 4 globally. It had expected around $5.4 billion in
revenue this year. It plans to pay for Actavis with term loan borrowings
and the sale of new debt.

Privately held Actavis operates in more than 40 countries and sells more
than 1,000 products. The companies said its revenue totaled $2.5 billion
in 2011. Watson said the purchase should close during the fourth quarter
of 2012, pending approval from regulators. If Actavis meets performance
goals in 2012, its shareholders could get up to 5.5 million shares of
Watson.

Watson CEO Paul Bisaro said in a statement that the deal will boost its
position in Russia and Central and Eastern Europe, and complement its
products in the U.S. After the deal is complete, more than 40 percent of
Watson's generic drug revenue will come from outside the U.S., and
Watson said it believes it will be able to reduce its annual costs by
$300 million the three years after the deal closes.

Watson reported $4.58 billion in revenue in 2011, up 29 percent from the
previous year, on sales of generic versions of drugs like Lipitor, the
pain drug Kadian and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder treatment
Concerta. It also expanded its business by buying generics maker
Specifar Pharmaceuticals of Greece in May. That deal was valued at
$563.1 million.

Watson also makes brand-name products like the enlarged-prostate drug
Rapaflo. In December, Watson announced it is partnering with Amgen Inc.,
the world's biggest biotechnology company, to create "biosimilar"
versions of several biologic medicines for cancer. Those drugs would be
sold under a joint Amgen/Watson brand.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. of Israel is the world's largest
generic drugmaker, with $13 billion in generic drug revenue in 2011.
Sandoz, a unit of Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG, was No. 2 with $10.7
billion. Mylan Inc. of Pittsburgh had around $8 billion in sales for the
year.

Actavis is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland. It has around 10,000
employees to Watson's 6,700. Watson is based in Parsippany, N.J.

Watson's stock is up 19.1 percent since March 21, when it was first
reported that Watson was in talks to buy Actavis.

After the deal was announced, Moody's Investors Service backed its
credit ratings on Watson but lowered its outlook to stable from
positive. Fitch Ratings said it will downgrade Watson if the deal
proceeds as planned because the deal would increase Watson's debt to
$6.8 billion from $1.1 billion.

Date: April 25, 2012
Source: Associated Press

[mainframetech]

On Apr 27, 7:04*am, Sherlock <anothascreen...@aol.com> wrote:
> PARSIPPANY, N.J. (AP) - Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. is buying another
> generic drugmaker, Switzerland's Actavis Group, for about $5.6 billion
> in a move that will make Watson in the world's third-biggest generic
> drugmaker.
>
> Watson, which has seen its profits surge since it started selling an
> authorized generic version of cholesterol blockbuster Lipitor in
> December, is now No. 4 globally. It had expected around $5.4 billion in
> revenue this year. It plans to pay for Actavis with term loan borrowings
> and the sale of new debt.
>
> Privately held Actavis operates in more than 40 countries and sells more
> than 1,000 products. The companies said its revenue totaled $2.5 billion
> in 2011. Watson said the purchase should close during the fourth quarter
> of 2012, pending approval from regulators. If Actavis meets performance
> goals in 2012, its shareholders could get up to 5.5 million shares of
> Watson.
>
> Watson CEO Paul Bisaro said in a statement that the deal will boost its
> position in Russia and Central and Eastern Europe, and complement its
> products in the U.S. After the deal is complete, more than 40 percent of
> Watson's generic drug revenue will come from outside the U.S., and
> Watson said it believes it will be able to reduce its annual costs by
> $300 million the three years after the deal closes.
>
> Watson reported $4.58 billion in revenue in 2011, up 29 percent from the
> previous year, on sales of generic versions of drugs like Lipitor, the
> pain drug Kadian and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder treatment
> Concerta. It also expanded its business by buying generics maker
> Specifar Pharmaceuticals of Greece in May. That deal was valued at
> $563.1 million.
>
> Watson also makes brand-name products like the enlarged-prostate drug
> Rapaflo. In December, Watson announced it is partnering with Amgen Inc.,
> the world's biggest biotechnology company, to create "biosimilar"
> versions of several biologic medicines for cancer. Those drugs would be
> sold under a joint Amgen/Watson brand.
>
> Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. of Israel is the world's largest
> generic drugmaker, with $13 billion in generic drug revenue in 2011.
> Sandoz, a unit of Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG, was No. 2 with $10.7
> billion. Mylan Inc. of Pittsburgh had around $8 billion in sales for the
> year.
>
> Actavis is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland. It has around 10,000
> employees to Watson's 6,700. Watson is based in Parsippany, N.J.
>
> Watson's stock is up 19.1 percent since March 21, when it was first
> reported that Watson was in talks to buy Actavis.
>
> After the deal was announced, Moody's Investors Service backed its
> credit ratings on Watson but lowered its outlook to stable from
> positive. Fitch Ratings said it will downgrade Watson if the deal
> proceeds as planned because the deal would increase Watson's debt to
> $6.8 billion from $1.1 billion.
>
> Date: April 25, 2012
> Source: Associated Press

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http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/0...other-statins/

Chris