Actavis name officially adopted by Watson Pharmaceuticals

Actavis has been adopted as the new unified brand name of Watson Pharmaceuticals following its acquisition of the Actavis Group at the end of October 2012.

The combined company – which has become the world's third largest generic pharmaceutical firm after the takeover – has chosen to adopt Actavis as its international name in order to create a single strong brand, with a new corporate logo and visual identity.

A multi-year rebranding campaign has kicked off to handle the transition of facilities and commercial operations around the world to the new Actavis name.

Paul Bisaro, president and chief executive officer of Actavis, said: "While we have been operating as one company since last year, today we unite all of our 17,000 employees under a single name, trademarked and protected around the world."

The new organisation has operations in more than 60 countries and a top ten position in over 33 markets, while its anticipated pro forma combined 2012 revenues are in excess of $8 billion (5.09 billion pounds).

Mr Bisaro said he expects the group to achieve double-digit growth in 2013 and beyond.