By Josh Beckerman
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., which is seeking to buy
rival Mylan NV, disclosed a small stake in the generic-drug
maker.
Teva said its purchase of a 1.35% Mylan interest underscores its
commitment to a deal.
The company is pursuing Mylan with a $40 billion unsolicited
cash-and-stock offer, and Mylan is simultaneously chasing a
reluctant Perrigo Co. with a $36 billion cash-and-stock bid.
Mylan has argued that Teva is the wrong company to acquire it.
In a harsh rebuke of the unsolicited bid, Mylan Chairman Robert
Coury wrote in a letter last month that Teva is a "poorly
performing" company with a "dysfunctional culture."
Teva maintains a combination would make a strategic fit and
could operate more efficiently, with an estimated $2 billion in
annual cost and tax savings.
Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com
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