BRIEF—Israeli billionaire mulling buying stake in Teva

Billionaire businessman Len Blavatnik is looking to buy an up to $3 billion stake in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, according to media reports, including the Israeli business newspaper Globes.

A spokesman for Mr Blavatnik's USA-based industrial group, Access Industries, declined to comment, said the New York Times.

Teva’s share price hit a 17-year low last week after the drugmaker cut its annual profit forecast again. The company has a $12.3 billion market capitalization.

According to Israeli media reports, the investment could either be done through a private stock listing, which would help Teva deal with its nearly $35 billion debt burden, or the shares could be bought from Allergan, which has a 10% stake in Teva as part of its sale of the Actavis generics business to the Israeli firm for $40.5 billion.