By Amy Yee in New Delhi and Andrew Jack in London
Friday, January 19, 2007
Ranbaxy, India's largest pharmaceutical company, is considering linking up with private equity firms to bid for the generic drugs unit of Germany's Merck as it embarks on an aggressive global expansion.
Acquiring Merck Generics would put Ranbaxy in a much stronger position in important global markets “and make us the seventh-largest generic maker globally”, Malvinder Mohan Singh, the company's chief executive, told the Financial Times.
The move comes as Merck reported strong fourth-quarter profits. It said this month it was considering whether to sell the generics unit to help fund its �0.5bn takeover of Swiss biotechnology company Serono last September.
Merck's shares have risen sharply on the back of strong interest from potential purchasers, with preliminary bids likely during February in a deal that analysts say could value its business at up to �bn ($5.2bn).
http://www.ftchinese.com/sc/story_english.jsp?id=001009052
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