Sources: Pfizer to place Ratiopharm bid today
It’s coming down to the wire: Ratiopharm bids are due Thursday, and Reuters sources say Pfizer will come to the party early. The world’s largest drugmaker is planning to submit its final bid for the company today, they say. The Merckle family put Ratiopharm up for sale to raise money to pay down debts. The company has a couple of big inducements: Its solid position in Germany, Europe’s largest pharma market, and its role as a generics maker at a time when many top drugmakers are looking to diversify into that market. So, the company has attracted quite a lot of interest; the bidders that remain include Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the world’s largest generics maker, and Actavis, the generics firm based in Iceland that
