A big deal for big pharma, as US company Watson Pharmaceuticals announces an agreement to buy pharmaceutical firm Actavis for EUR 4.25 billion. The resulting company will be the world's third largest producer of generic drugs. Combined revenues of USD 8 billion are expected in 2012 and the move appears to be an effort to increase Watson's presence outside the US. Actavis is also present in Romania, where it acquired local company Sindan. Watson does not have a Romanian subsidiary.

"In a single, commercially compelling transaction, we more than double Watson's international access and strengthen our commercial position in key established European markets as well as exciting emerging growth markets, including Central and Eastern Europe and Russia," said Watson President and CEO Paul M. Bisaro.

The deal is touted as positioning two already strong companies better in global markets. Watson hopes to up the percentage of total revenue from outside the US from 16 percent to 40 percent, and Actavis' strong presence in Central and Eastern Europe was underlined as an important factor in the deal.

Actavis was founded in the 1950s in Iceland and remained a small company serving its local market until 1999. The company then embarked on a series of acquisitions that made it one of the largest global generic pharmaceuticals players. Currently headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Actavis is present in more than 40 countries and markets over 1,000 products globally. The company manufactured more than 22 billion pharmaceutical doses in 2011, has over 10,000 employees worldwide and posted 2011 revenues of around USD 2.5 billion.

Watson Pharmaceuticals was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, U.S. The company reported sales worth USD 4.57 billion in 2011 and, although the majority of its business is in the US, is present in more than 20 countries worldwide.

Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com