Mylan got a letter Wednesday afternoon from Teva Pharmaceuticals International, laying out the case for a merger, just hours after Mylan's third proposal to merge with Perrigo was rejected.
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Teva chief executive Erez Vigodman wrote to Mylan executive chairman Robert Coury, calling for Netherlands-based Mylan to stop "mudslinging" in its attempts to avoid a merger with Teva. On Monday, Coury issued a sharply worded letter to Vigodman, calling Israel-based Teva's corporate culture "dysfunctional."
Teva had appeared to ignore Mylan's concerns as it issued a relatively simple response the same day. But on Wednesday, Vigodman took issue with a number of points raised by Coury.
"I firmly believe that our respective stakeholders do not support, or benefit from, mudslinging, mischaracterization, rehashing of history or selective presentation of facts," Vigodman's letter said.
"Summarily rejecting our offer which provides Mylan stockholders with such a significant premium is inconsistent with the responsibilities and obligations of your board of directors to Mylan's stakeholders."
Vigodman also said Coury overstated regulatory hurdles in his letter to Teva earlier this week, questioning whether the $43 billion deal would be able to go through and that potential divestitures would be manageable.
"Most of Mylan's drug products do not overlap with Teva's, and the majority of those that do overlap have a number of other competitors and should not raise antitrust issues," Vigodman's letter says.
"Teva is prepared to make the divestitures needed to secure clearances and is actively identifying both potential divestitures and potential acquirers for divested assets." Vigodman says that Mylan's concerns about the two companies being a cultural fit are "puzzling."
"We are determined to capture the full potential value resulting from this transaction by having the best people from both companies working for a much stronger combined entity. Teva is meritocratic, fair and committed to identifying the best people and best assets across each company," the letter says. ■