Teva’s unsolicited $40bn expression of interest in its generics counterpart back in April, has led to a series of correspondence, with Mylan last week accusing its pursuer of “playing games” and causing “significant unrest and uncertainty” by refusing to commit to an actual offer.
But in a letter dated June 8 and published in an SEC filing, Teva CEO Erez Vigodman has rebutted such claims, reiterated that the “proposal is strong and serious,” and criticised Mylan for “attempting to paint Teva in a negative light.”
“There is nothing unclear or equivocal about Teva’s intentions. We have a clear roadmap to deliver on our proposal, and we remain committed to taking all of the steps necessary to deliver the exceptional benefits of this combination to the stockholders of Mylan and Teva,” he wrote.
“While our desire remains to reach agreement on a transaction, we will continue to take the steps necessary to accomplish our proposal.”
Accumulating a position in Mylan?
One of the steps criticised by Mylan is Teva’s growing stake in the firm, following the purchase of $76m worth of shares, or 1.35% of the business in May. This figure jumped to around 2.2% following an additional acquisition reported last week.
Accused of underhand tactics, Vigodman said “Teva’s acquisition of Mylan shares is in compliance with applicable law,” before questioning Mylan’s pragmatism with regards to international governance:
“We note that you have been saying you are a Dutch company when you believe it helps you create unprecedented governance structures, a UK company when it helps you lower your US taxes and a US company when you believe it helps you prevent Teva from purchasing Mylan shares.”
Evercore ISI analyst Umer Raffat told in-Pharmatechnologist.com the letter didn’t reveal much more in the ongoing cat-and-mouse saga.
When asked whether a hostile bid was likely, he said the “Teva takeover attempt is already not friendly,” and added that “Teva is accumulating a position in Mylan” through its increasing stake in the company.
Mylan responds
Mylan Executive Chairman Robert Coury reiterated the view that Vigodman continues to leave "Mylan and its stakeholders with great uncertainty regarding Teva’s intentions" in a response to the Teva Chief, published late yesterday.
Coury, therefore, has demanded Teva come back with "straightforward answers to straightforward questions," specifically:
"Is Teva planning to quickly make a legally binding exchange offer to acquire Mylan in order to provide clarity to our Board of Directors, Mylan, and its stakeholders?"
And: "If Teva is committed to making a legally binding exchange offer, will it contain a "hell or high water" provision whereby Teva will agree to whatever the US FTC requires in order to clear the transaction under the HSR rules?"