The Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:TEVA) Women’s Health unit, which is up for sale, is reportedly attracting interest from Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) and Cooper Cos. The two according to reports are planning to table bids for the unit’s US operations instead of acquiring it as a whole.
Teva Women’s Health Unit
Teva has already hinted at the possibility of splitting the unit into two, the US and European operations, as bidders continue to show interest in separate parts. Deadline for bids is this week with the entire unit expected to fetch about $2 billion.
Church & Dwight and Cooper are not the only ones showing interest in Teva’s Women’s Health unit. The two will reportedly have to face competition from European, Asian, and private equity firms that have shown interest as well.
India’s Intas Pharmaceuticals is one of the companies that has shown interest as it continues to explore ways of expanding its footprint in the US. Other firms that have also shown interest include Astorg partners, CVC Capital Partners and Apollo Global Management.
A bidding war for the asset is what Teva needs as it looks to raise as much money from the unit. The divestiture comes at a time when the generic drugs giant is in dire need of new capital to trim its debt load that has soared to $35 billion.
Teva Financial Woes
The unit is one of the business that Teva is trying to offload as part of an ongoing restructuring. The company’s European Oncology and Pain Treatments are also up for sale as well as the Medis units. Reports also indicate the company may sell some respiratory products as it looks to raise additional funding.
Teva’s financial woes stem from the acquisition of Actavis for $40 billion. Expiry of patents for some of its blockbuster drugs has also left it vulnerable to spiraling competition that continues to affect sales. The company has already cut its full year earnings outlook having also ended its dividend program as it explores ways to conserve cash.
Teva Pharmaceuticals was down by 0.18% in Wednesday’s trading session to end the day at $17.1 a share.
