Meda Shareholder Blocks Mylan’s Second Takeover Bid

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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Shares of Mylan Inc. (NASDAQ: MYL) retreated first thing Monday morning, after the generic drugmaker’s sweetened bid for Swedish drugmaker Meda was rejected.

The latest bid is said to have valued Meda at around $6.7 billion, or a premium of about 50% over Meda’s share price before news of Mylan’s original approach earlier this month. At issue for the Meda board was that the company’s largest shareholder, Stena Sessan Rederi AB did not back the deal. Meda’s chairman, Bert-Ake Eriksson, is also the CEO of shipping company Stena Sessan Rederi, which is controlled by the Olsson business family and holds a 22.77% stake in Meda.

Though the board said it was confident in Meda’s future as an independent company, the maker of over-the-counter drugs and branded generics has long been viewed as a takeover target, due in part to its new allergy medicine Dymista and to its growth in emerging markets.

Mylan was believed to be looking to expand its respiratory treatment business, to gain a foothold in Russia and perhaps to reduce its tax burden by relocating its headquarters abroad. Back in December it expanded overseas by acquiring India’s Agila Specialties for $1.6 billion.

Mylan shares were down 3.7% in Monday morning trading, at $50.16 in a 52-week range of $27.77 to $57.52.

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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