How Forest Laboratories Became a $25 Billion Acquisition Target

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- A Fuld & Company white paper which chronicles the history of Forest Laboratories  and its market position that led to its acquisition by Actavis was released today. The white paper http://bit.ly/1lAw5Lo provides details including:

• Forest's actions in recent years that made it acquisition bait
• How one of the most successful US pharmaceutical companies of the last decade finds itself being an acquired by a company that many would consider to be a smaller player

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140403/NY96987LOGO )

Actavis, the generics company, announced its proposed acquisition of Forest Laboratories in a $25 billion equity and cash deal. The combined global entity will have a presence in the generics, branded, branded generic, OTC and biosimilar spaces, with a therapeutic footprint in the CNS, Cardiovascular, Women's Health, Urology, Gastroenterology and Dermatology arenas.

Forest was dependent on the United States between 2000 and 2013 with the percentage of the company's net sales from this region never falling below 95%.  Additionally, its CNS portfolio regularly constituted between 80% and 90% of net sales– with most revenue generated by a handful of products.

The impending deal will end Forest's presence as an independent pharmaceutical company.

Quote by White Paper Author:

Alasdair Milton, Director Fuld Life Sciences Practice said: "Forest's previous success was built around a 'license and sell' U.S.-centric model focused in the Central Nervous System (CNS) market."

"Forest's highly-focused business model, exposed the company to an increasingly competitive licensing environment, as R&D failures across the industry meant that more and more players were looking to a number of  licensing deals to help fill their pipelines. This, combined with patent expirations on its leading drugs, meant that the company found itself in a 'perfect storm' that it couldn't escape from."

About Fuld & Company
Fuld & Company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with offices in London, Manila, and Singapore, is a global consultancy providing competitive insights through its research and advisory services, the world's preeminent research and consulting firm in the field of competitive intelligence. Founded by Leonard Fuld, a pioneer and recognized leading authority in the field, Fuld & Company has serviced more than half the Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 for 35 years. The firm does research and analysis, strategic gaming, intelligence process consulting, and training to help clients understand the external competitive environment.

SOURCE Fuld & Company