"Teva has widespread international activity, with a great deal of flexibility, and without the need to be in any particular spot. But we are Israelis and live here, and I think that something needs to be done to help Israeli exporters," Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) president and CEO Shlomo Yanai told "Globes" today in a special interview marking a year since Teva acquired Barr Pharmaceuticals for $9 billion.
"Israel is a small economy built on exports. There is fierce competition, and governments take various steps to help business cope with the situation. The State of Israel should also give high priority to dealing with this matter in an active way, because this is the mainstay of the economy. Exports must be given a more supportive environment.
On the Barr deal, Yanai says one year on, "I can certainly say that what we hoped and believed we would achieve we have achieved. In quantitative terms, some things are long-term and have yet to stand the test of time, but the first year numbers were good. If we expected that the synergies would be worth $300 million, and then updated to $400 million, we are now looking at $500 million, and that's a much more substantial amount."
Asked about making such an acquisition at the height of an economic crisis, Yanai said, "We announced the acquisition in July, and the closing was in December. In between, the world turned upside down, the financial system crashed, and we faced financing challenges: recycling Barr's debt, bridging loans. The crisis added another dimension to integration, which included layoffs and plant closures in a problematic economic environment. We did it in a way that was right and humane, and completed integration with the full cooperation of the workers and the unions, to the satisfaction of all sides."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on August 3, 2009
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