What Perrigo and Teva Can Learn From Mylan's Share Repurchase

Health and Healthcare

Published: November 16, 2015 1:05 pm

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 5:08 pm

Mylan N.V. (NASDAQ: MYL) and Perrigo Co. PLC (NYSE: PRGO) have recently been tangled up in tender offer that was ultimately defended against by Perrigo. It almost seemed like Mylan was getting a dose of its own medicine after fending off a buyout from Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA) in a similar manner.

In much the same fashion Perrigo shares pulled back like Mylan as a result.

What’s the next step now? Mylan announced Monday that it would be conducting a share repurchase for up to $1 billion. This authorization will expire in late August 2016, and it is worth noting that is a much faster timeline for repurchasing than most companies would give. The amount also accounts for roughly 4% to 5% of its market cap.

This is a solid move by Mylan for a couple reasons. First of all, with its M&A premium from Teva out of the picture, the company believes that it can pick up more shares on the cheap.

Secondly, by acquiring these shares, the board is further enhancing shareholders’ stake in the company.

Maybe Perrigo could learn something from Mylan in this regard, and perhaps Teva could as well.

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Robert J. Coury, executive chairman of Mylan, said:

As indicated last week, we remain focused on utilizing the optionality provided by Mylan’s strong balance sheet and ample financial flexibility in pursuit of external opportunities that further build on our existing platform and position us for continued growth and value creation, and we have already identified a number of potential opportunities. That said, the Board’s authorization of an up to $1 billion share repurchase provides us with optimal flexibility and allows us to be opportunistic in repurchasing shares, thereby investing in Mylan’s strong growth prospects and exciting future, which we continue to believe are substantially undervalued.

Shares of Mylan were trading up about 2% at $49.81 Monday, with a consensus analyst price target of $63.92 and a 52-week trading range of $37.59 to $76.69.

Perrigo shares were up less than 2% at $149.39. The stock has a consensus price target of $199.78 and a 52-week range of $140.40 to $215.73.

Shares of Teva were up about 1.5% at $58.85. The consensus price target is $77.09, and the 52-week range is $54.17 to $72.31.

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