Takeda denies $12bn Nycomed takeover reports
pharmafile | May 13, 2011 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Nycomed, Takeda
Japan’s biggest pharma firm Takeda has denied reports it is negotiating a billion dollar deal to acquire Swiss speciality firm Nycomed.
Japanese newspaper Nikkei said Takeda is set to buy Nycomed for Y1 trillion, or $12 billion, and Bloomberg cited sources who expected the deal to be completed as early as next week.
But Takeda flatly denied the reports, saying it has not agreed to any such thing.
“In addition, Takeda has a policy of not commenting on any rumours regarding our business,” the company said in a statement.
Nycomed’s biggest drug is its COPD treatment Daxas (roflumilast), marketed in conjunction with Forest Labs, and the Swiss firm made $3.17 billion in sales last year, slightly down on 2009 by 1.8% in local currencies.
Industry analysts at EvaluatePharma said the purchase of the Swiss drugmaker, which is particularly strong in Latin America, Russia and the Middle East, would double Takeda’s sales in emerging markets, a target the Japanese firm set itself last year.
The majority of Takeda’s Y1.41 trillion ($17 billion) sales come from Japan and North America, with emerging markets accounting for around 10% of total sales.
EvaluatePharma point out that a buyout would likely not go unchallenged. Teva in particular has proven itself a worthy foe in bidding wars for generic and, more recently, specialty pharma firms and the analysts say the world’s biggest generic firm could make a rival bid.
But Teva could be put off by Nycomed’s significant debt, reported to be $5.5bn, and Takeda’s willingness to pay a high premium to achieve its goal of global growth.
Teva has also just spend $6.8 billion on a deal to buy US-based speciality firm Cephalon, meaning it may want to lay off the acquisition trail for a while.
Ben Adams
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