Pliva attracts bidders

The Croatian drugs manufacturer Pliva has attracted the attention of Barr Pharmaceuticals as well as Icelandic pharmaceutical company Actavis, according to reports.

The Financial Times has reported that Barr, which manufactures generic and proprietary drugs, has entered the bidding with an offer of $2.1 billion (1.12 billion pounds). Actavis, which had already offered 630 Croatian Kuna (59.40 pounds) per share for Pliva, has said in response that it may change its offer.

Haldor Kristmannsson, Actavis’ communications director, told Reuters: “Our offer is not binding and we could look into the possibility of making changes to the offer.”

Pliva, in a faxed statement to the news agency, refused to confirm or deny the details of any bid, but it commented: “We’re currently in the process of considering strategic options together with our financial adviser Deutsche Bank. We can only confirm that several investors have expressed interest in the company.”

It is not known which company’s bid the Pliva board is thought to favour, although since March last year Barr and Pliva have engaged in a development and marketing agreement for Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor – a type of protein that causes the bone marrow to produce more granulocyte cells. The agreement is centred in the US to manufacture a generic version of Amgen’s Neupogen.

Barr has not yet commented officially on any bid for Pliva.

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