Actavis raises offer for Pliva to HRK 795 per share in cash

By Elaine Rigoli

Tampa, Fla., Aug. 31 - Actavis Group has increased its offer to acquire the Croatian pharmaceutical company Pliva dd to HRK 795 per share in cash.

The revised offer represents an increase of 10% over Actavis' previous offer of HRK 723 per share and is 7% higher than the competing offer of HRK 743 per share made for Pliva by Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

The increased offer values the total issued share capital of Pliva at $2.5 billion.

In addition, Actavis also confirmed that it now controls a total of 20.8% of Pliva's share capital through a combination of share ownership and options to acquire shares.

Under the terms of Actavis' increased offer, Pliva shareholders will receive HRK 795 per share in cash, in addition to the HRK 12 per share dividend determined by Pliva, representing a total cash payment of HRK 807 per share.

The funds required for Actavis' offer are fully committed through financing arranged by Actavis' bankers, JP Morgan, HSBC, UBS and Landsbanki, and consist of a mixture of equity, loan facilities and a preferred security. In connection with the offer, Actavis has also secured shareholder approval for an equity increase of 300 million shares.

Actavis said it intends for Pliva's Zagreb, Croatia, headquarters to become a central part of the combined business, responsible for overseeing the enlarged group's operations in Central and Eastern Europe.

Actavis added that it plans to consolidate its manufacturing facilities worldwide and transfer production to Croatia from other existing sites to take advantage of the high-skilled manufacturing environment and lower costs.

Actavis is a generic pharmaceutical company based in Reykjavik, Iceland.

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