Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries to Acquire Ratiopharm

A little news emerged today from the Israeli businessworld.  Israel’s largest company, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ: TEVA) has annouced a takeover of European generic drug company Ratiopharm, for 3.6 billion Euros.

Reuters had this to say:

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ratiopharm, Germany`s generic drug company, for an enterprise value of EUR3.625 billion. Teva expects to complete the transaction by year-end 2010. Upon completion of the acquisition, Teva expects synergies of at least $400 million (EUR300 million), which should be fully realized within three years. The transaction will be funded through a combination of cash on hand and lines of credit. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as outside legal counsel for Teva and Goldman Sachs & Co. acted as financial advisor to Teva in this transaction. 

As a finance expert myself, I have this to say: It is good to see an Israeli company build up the capital to make such a large purchase.  The acquisition will bring increased profits, and possibly jobs, to the Israeli economy.  While I have not done a stock analysis to determine whether it is worth investing, Teva has been a strong company and vital pillar of Israel’s economy for many years.