Cephalon (Nasdaq: CEPH) has announced that its shareholders have approved its acquisition by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) for $81.50 a share, or a total of $6.8 billion.
Teva, headed by CEO Shlomo Yanai, reported at the beginning of May that it would acquire US pharmaceutical company, Cephalon, for $6.8 billion. Cephalon produces branded drugs for the treatment of cancer, pain, and more. Following the acquisition announcement, Teva CFO Eyal Deshe said that the company intends to raise financing combining short-term bank loans and longer-term bonds, and that Teva will still have $1 billion in liquidity after the acquisition. Teva had expected to complete the acquisition in the third quarter of 2011, subject to also receiving permits from European authorities and Cephalon shareholders.
Teva signed an agreement with a banking syndicate to receive a $4 billion line of credit to finance the acquisition. In parallel, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is responsible for antitrust matters, requested that Teva and Cephalon provide additional details as part of the acquisition process.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 17, 2011
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