Teva Sells Women's Health Assets -- WSJ
September 19 2017 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
The generic-drug company will receive $1.38 billion in a move to
grapple with debt
By Ezequiel Minaya
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (September 19, 2017).
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., the world's biggest seller
of generic drugs, said Monday it will sell the remaining assets in
its specialty global women's health business for $1.38 billion, the
company's latest move to grapple with high debt.
The company has been selling off noncore assets in a bid to pay
down some $35 billion in debt.
Teva said Monday it has entered into an agreement with CVC
Capital Partners to sell it a portfolio of contraception,
fertility, menopause and osteoporosis products for $703 million in
cash. In addition, Teva has entered an agreement under which
Foundation Consumer Healthcare, owned by affiliates of Juggernaut
Capital Partners and Kelso & Co., will pay $675 million in cash
for Teva's Plan B One-Step and other brands of emergency
contraception.
Last week, Teva announced it had sold its Paragard
contraceptive-device business to Cooper Cos. for $1.1 billion.
The sales "demonstrate Teva's commitment to delivering on our
promise to generate net proceeds of at least $2 billion from the
divestiture of noncore assets," said Yitzhak Peterburg, Teva's
interim CEO.
Like other generic drugmakers, Teva faces tough price
competition that is squeezing profit margins. It also owes about
$35 billion, much of it from last year's acquisition of Allergan
PLC's generics unit for $40.5 billion, Teva's biggest-ever
deal.
Last week, Teva appointed Kare Schultz, a nearly 30-year
pharmaceutical industry veteran, as the company's new chief
executive. The company hasn't yet said when Mr. Schultz will assume
his post.
Teva has searched since February for a new chief executive to
fill the shoes of longtime leader Eli Hurvitz, who is credited with
turning the company from a small-time pharmaceutical firm into a
global generics drugs seller.
Mr. Hurvitz was chief executive for more than 25 years and
involved in Teva until his death in 2011. Since then, the firm has
gone through a series of chief executives that have struggled to
manage global expansion.
The Israeli drugmaker in August posted disappointing
second-quarter results, cut its full-year outlook and slashed its
dividend, blaming the rapid deterioration of its U.S. generic-drug
business. Teva took a $6.1 billion write-down on that unit and
posted a quarterly net loss of $6.04 billion.
Rory Jones contributed to this article
Write to Ezequiel Minaya at ezequiel.minaya@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 19, 2017 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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