Watson buys Greek generics firm Specifar for $562 million; Nestle acquires Prometheus

USA-based Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: WPI) said yesterday that it has acquired Specifar Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held Greek generic pharmaceutical developer, manufacturer and marketer for 400 million euros ($562 million) in cash and certain contingent consideration. As a result of the buy, Watson gains a leading generic product development company that develops and out-licenses products throughout the world.

Also, says Watson, this acquisition enhances the US firm’s commercial presence in key European markets by providing a portfolio of approved products. The transaction also gives Watson a strong branded generic presence in the 6 billion euros Greek pharmaceutical market. Specifar's pipeline includes a generic tablet version of AstraZeneca’s blockbuster $5 billion-a-year gastrointestinal drug Nexium (esomeprazole), which could launch in certain European markets as early as the fourth quarter of 2011. Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, Specifar's former owners could receive additional consideration of as much as 40 million euros based on future profits from this product.

Deal will be accretive this year