Monday, April 28, 2008

Teva to Acquire Bentley Pharmaceuticals


Teva to Acquire Bentley Pharmaceuticals


Acquisition Will Provide Teva with a Strong Platform to Become a Leading Player in SpainJerusalem, Israel and Exeter, NH, March 31, 2008 - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA) and Bentley Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: BNT) announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Teva will acquire Bentley.


The acquisition will take place following the spin-off of Bentley's drug delivery business to its shareholders, which Bentley announced on October 23, 2007. Teva will acquire Bentley, which at closing will consist solely of the generic pharmaceutical operations, for an aggregate cash purchase price of approximately $360 million. Shareholders of Bentley will receive approximately $15.02 per share in cash in the acquisition (which price is subject to potential adjustment, as described below), and also will receive shares of CPEX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. pursuant to the spin-off, which will occur before the acquisition. Bentley manufactures and markets a portfolio of approximately 130 pharmaceutical products in various dosages and strengths, as both branded generic and generic products, to physicians, pharmacists and hospitals. Bentley markets its products primarily in Spain, but also sells generic pharmaceuticals in other parts of the European Union. These efforts are supported by finished dosage and active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing facilities. Bentley's generic pharmaceutical operations generated revenues of approximately $114 million for the year ended December 31, 2007.


Commenting on today's transaction, Shlomo Yanai, Teva's President and Chief Executive Officer, said: "This is an important acquisition for Teva, as the combination of Teva Spain and Bentley will provide us with a platform to capture a leading position in the fast-growing Spanish generic pharmaceutical market. Spain was identified as one of our target markets in the strategic review we conducted last year. We are extremely pleased that we will have Bentley's strong management and work force, complementing our existing management team, to support our growth strategy."


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