Mylan N.V. issued the a statement regarding Abbott Laboratories’ announced intention to support Mylan’s offer to acquire Perrigo Company plc and vote in favor of the acquisition at Mylan’s upcoming shareholder meeting. Abbott is currently Mylan’s largest shareholder, owning 14.5% of Mylan’s outstanding shares, and is an important long-term stakeholder of Mylan through various manufacturing partnerships. Mylan first issued a proposal to acquire Perrigo in April 2015 for $28.9 billion, and then later increased its offer in a proposed deal that Perrigo has thus far rejected. At the same time, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has made an approximate $43 billion proposal to acquire Mylan, a deal that Mylan has rejected thus far.

“We chose Mylan to acquire our developed markets branded generics pharmaceuticals because its scale and breadth across critical distribution channels, broad and diverse portfolio, and commitment to patients and product quality strongly positions it for success in the years to come,” said Miles D. White, chairman and chief executive officer, Abbott, in a company statement. “As both Mylan’s largest shareholder and its partner through our continued manufacturing relationships, Abbott has considered the entire situation and we believe Mylan’s standalone strategy and acquisition of Perrigo will further enhance its platform, is strategically compelling, value enhancing for shareholders, and offers a clear path to completion. In light of these factors, we will be voting in favor of the Perrigo transaction.”

Mylan Executive Chairman Robert J. Coury stated: “We are very pleased that, while Abbott is under no obligation to do so, Abbott has voluntarily chosen to express its support of Mylan, our strategic growth plan and stand-alone strategy, and our proposed combination with Perrigo. When we acquired Abbott’s non-US developed markets specialty and branded generics business earlier this year, we gained an important stakeholder in Abbott, which understands the powerful potential of our platform, and the critical importance of our scale and breadth across our distribution channels. We are grateful for Abbott’s support of our long-term vision, which we firmly believe will continue to deliver strong near-term and long-term returns in this rapidly evolving industry and will promote the sustainable success of Mylan’s business.”

Source: Mylan and Abbott