LONDON - The Swedish drug maker Meda said Monday that it had rejected a sweetened takeover offer from the generic pharmaceutical company Mylan.
In a statement Monday, Meda said that it had been contacted again by Mylan about a tie-up, but that it had rejected the revised offer. Meda, which didn’t disclose the terms of the offer, said earlier this month that it had rejected a prior approach by Mylan, which is based in Pennsylvania.
“All contacts between Meda and Mylan have been terminated without further actions,†Meda said. The company’s board believes “in the continued potential of Meda as a stand-alone company,†the statement said, and the bid “lacks sufficient support from Meda’s largest shareholder.†Meda’s biggest shareholder is Stena Sessan Rederi, a unit of the Swedish shipping company Stena. It holds about 22.7 percent of Meda’s share capital and voting rights.
Shares of Meda declined 10.3 percent to 115.30 Swedish kronor in trading in Stockholm on Monday morning. Based on that price, Meda had a market capitalization of 34.8 billion kronor, or about $5.3 billion.
The news came as Pfizer confirmed Monday that it had expressed interest in acquiring AstraZeneca of Britain in another big potential deal in a sector that has seen billions of dollars in mergers and asset swaps this year. Pfizer said Monday that it was willing to pay £58.7 billion, or $98.9 billion, for AstraZeneca, which has turned down several informal approaches.
If the Meda deal had gone forward, Mylan would have been able to complete a so-called inversion, a maneuver that allows companies from the United States to reincorporate abroad, thereby escaping the high American corporate tax rate.
Inversions are increasingly popular, and pharmaceutical companies have been among the most eager to take advantage of the rule.
Meda posted 13.1 billion kronor in sales last year. The specialty pharmaceuticals company employs some 3,000 people in about 55 countries.
Mylan, based in Canonsburg, Pa., posted revenue of $6.9 billion in 2013. Mylan employs about 20,000 people in 140 countries.
