Teva: Hola, Bentley

JERUSALEM—Seeking a larger share of the pharmaceutical market in Spain, generic drug giant Teva Pharmaceutical Industries announced March 31 it will acquire Bentley Pharmaceuticals, a leading drug manufacturer in Europe, for $360 million.

The acquisition will take place following the spin-off of CPEX Pharmaceuticals Inc., Bentley's drug delivery business, a move Bentley announced Oct. 23, 2007. At closing, the acquisition will consist solely of Bentley's generic pharmaceutical operations.

Teva President and CEO Shlomo Yanai said the combined companies will enable Teva to capture a leading position in the fast-growing Spanish generic pharmaceutical market. TEVA Genericos Espanola SL has introduced more than 60 products targeted both to hospitals and pharmacies since 2004. Currently, the company is the fourth-largest generic company in Spain's hospital market. Once the companies are combined, Teva will offer the Spanish market more than 170 products and have more than 45 products pending generic product registrations.

"Spain was identified as one of our target markets in the strategic review we conducted last year," Yanai says. "We are extremely pleased that we will have Bentley's strong management and work force, complementing our existing management team, to support our growth strategy."

Bentley manufactures and markets a portfolio of approximately 130 pharmaceutical products in various dosages and strengths, as both branded generic and generic products, to physicians, pharmacists and hospitals. Bentley markets its products primarily in Spain, but also sells generic pharmaceuticals in other parts of the European Union. Bentley's generic pharmaceutical operations generated revenues of approximately $114 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007.

Bentley shareholders will receive approximately $15.02 per share in cash in the acquisition.

"By separately selling Bentley's generic operations while spinning off its drug delivery business, we believe that we are maximizing shareholder value," says Bentley Chairman and CEO James R. Murphy. "Becoming part of the world's leading generic pharmaceutical company—and gaining access to its extensive resources and expertise in generic R&D, manufacturing and marketing—will enable us to better serve our customers in bringing to market high quality and affordable generic pharmaceuticals."

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2008. Teva will fund the acquisition from its internal resources and expects that the acquisition of Bentley's generic pharmaceutical operations will become accretive within 12 months of closing.