
Valeant looking at selling core asset to manage debt
pharmafile | November 2, 2016 | News story | Research and Development |Â Â Takeda Pharmaceutical, Valeant pharmaceutical, salixÂ
Valeant is rumoured to be looking into selling its Salix drugs business to Takeda Pharmaceutical, with figures floated of a sale for around $10 billion. This figure would see Valeant take a $1.1 billion loss on the Salix business, coming a year and a half after Valeant agreed the $11.1 billion deal to acquire the business back in March 2015.
Valeant have had a difficult year and, only yesterday, suffered even more difficulties after news broke that the company’s ex-CEO may be investigated for fraud. Valeant’s shares are 90% down from previous highs last year and there has been mounting pressure for concerted action to pay down its debt, which presently stands at above $30 billion. A potential $10 billion sale, with a mooted $8.5 billion in upfront cash, would allow the company to manage this debt and allow them to focus on other parts of their company.
The Salix business focuses on gastrointestinal drugs. The unit’s biggest products are Xifaxan, an anti-diarrheal drug, which had sales of $200 million in second-quarter sales, and Uceris, an ulcerative colitis treatment, that had sales of $37 million. The two drugs combined produced 10% of Valeant’s second-quarter sales.
Takeda and Valeant had originally vied to acquire the Salix business so Takeda being interested in taking over the business comes as no surprise. Valeant is working with investment bank Morgan Stanley on the potential sale, with another company potentially interested in bidding for the Salix business.
Ben Hargreaves
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