Actavis sells operations in several EU countries to Aurobindo

Actavis has announced the sale of its generics commercial operations in seven markets in western Europe to fellow healthcare company Aurobindo Pharma.

The deal will see Aurobindo acquire Actavis' pharmaceutical commercial infrastructure in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, including products, marketing authorisations and dossier license rights.

Until the transaction is completed, Actavis will continue to operate these divisions as usual, providing full support to manage the business, introduce new products and maximise its partnership with customers.

Actavis believes Aurobindo is better positioned to generate maximum value from these commercial operations.

Sigurdur Oli Olafsson, president of Actavis Pharma, said: "This transaction will permit Actavis to focus management time and resources to support accelerated investment in driving faster growth of other markets, including central and eastern Europe and south-east Asia."

Earlier this month, the firm announced preliminary financial results for 2013, revealing that it anticipates its earnings for the fourth quarter to modestly exceed its previous forecasts.