Friday, March 27, 2009

Mylan to pay $133 mn for rest of Matrix Labs-
The drugmaker said it plans to acquire the remaining 29% stake in Matrix Laboratories Ltd for about $133 mn
Generic drugmaker Mylan Inc said on Thursday it plans to acquire the remaining 29% stake in Matrix Laboratories Ltd of India for about $133 million in a transaction that would add to its 2009 earnings.
Pittsburgh-based Mylan, which already owns 71.2% of Matrix, said buying the remainder and delisting the company from Indian stock exchanges would give it more flexibility and efficiencies.
Mylan said it plans to acquire all remaining 45 million shares for Rs150 ($2.97) a share, 27% above Matrix’s closing share price on 26 March, the last trading day before the announcement.
The delisting from the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India is expected to take about 12 weeks, subject to obtaining regulatory approvals, Mylan said.
Earlier this month Mylan said Matrix received tentative approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for its generic version of Abbott Laboratories Inc’s Kaletra HIV tablets.--- L.Kannan