Pliva issued a press release confirming that "it has received an indicative non-binding proposal from Actavis, for a potential cash consideration of KN 570 per share, subject to a number of conditions, including the completion of satisfactory due diligence, funding and agreement on structure. This cash price represents a premium of less than 12% over Pliva"s closing share price yesterday."
The Pliva management says "it does not believe that the proposal adequately reflects the fundamental value and future prospects of the company. Pliva is currently completing its transition phase, having recently divested its loss-making proprietary businesses, and has made significant progress in its manufacturing consolidation program through the divestment of its production plant in Germany. Through these actions, Pliva has materially improved its profitability prospects, which it expects to become visible in 2006 and beyond."
"Today, Pliva is among the top twelve generics companies world-wide and Management strongly believes that Pliva will be able to create greater value for shareholders by further growing its position through its strength in development, competitive manufacturing capabilities, and focus on key markets."
Later on Friday, when reporters asked him to comment on Actavis's offer, Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said that he knew about the matter only from what he read in the press.
The government has not yet decided to sell its 18-percent stock in Pliva, PM Sanader said, adding that he would try to get more information "about what is going on behind the scenes and who wants to take over Pliva".
The Icelandic comapny has reported on its web site that "Actavis' recent acquisition of the generics business of Alpharma positions the company among the five leading generic pharmaceutical companies in the world, with 10,000 employees in over 30 countries. Founded in 1956, the Group now operates across five continents and has its headquarters in Iceland."