Actavis completes acquisition of Allergan in multi-billion dollar deal

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Actavis has completed its acquisition of Allergan creating a “pharma powerhouse” in one of the biggest deals the industry has ever seen.

The completion of the cash and equity deal, reported to be worth $70 billion (£47bn), was announced late last month and saw Actavis overtake GSK to become the world’s eighth-largest drug maker by market capitalisation. The deal has been in the pipeline since November 2014 and will see the new company become one of the world’s top 10 pharmaceutical companies by sales revenue, with combined annual pro forma revenues of more than $23bn anticipated in2015.

“Our combined company will be built around a customer-focused commitment to partnering with physicians, pharmacists and patients to deliver innovative treatments and enhance access to important therapies around the world. We have industry-leading global commercial strength, with sustainable blockbuster brand franchises in key therapeutic categories and broad commercial reach extending across approximately 100 countries,” said Brent Saunders, CEO and president of Actavis/Allergan.

Speaking at the Allergan Symposium at the Anti-Ageing Medicine World Congress in Monaco on March 27, Saunders also thanked the former CEO of Allergan David Pyott and talked about what the acquisition will mean for the future. He said, “I would like to thank my friend and mentor David Pyott. His are very large shoes to fill and I hope over the next few years I can do just a fraction of what David has accomplished as the leader of Allergan. “We have created a global powerhouse that we called ‘growth pharma’. The new combination of Actavis and Allergan is one of the largest and fastest growing pharmaceutical companies in the world.” Addressing the congress Saunders also announced the company’s intent to keep the Allergan name.

He said, “We will ask our shareholders to vote on the name change in four to six weeks and we expect that to pass with no issues. The reason for that was simply because of the high quality that Allergan stands for. I believe that you will see our commitment to medical aesthetics, dermatology, plastics and eye care and all the things that made Allergan great. We will continue to invest in R&D, innovation and education in view of growing your practices and supporting your patients. We look forward to working together to continue to build this important area of medicine.”