By Carl O'Donnell and Tom Westbrook
(Reuters) - Australia's Mayne Pharma Group Ltd (AX:MYX) on Tuesday said it will acquire U.S. generic products from Teva Pharmaceuticals (TA:TEVA) for $652 million, helping it propel into the top 2 in the general oral contraceptives market in the United States.
Mayne will raise A$601 million ($440.89 million) for a 1-for-1.725 rights issue and a share placement offer of A$287 million to fund the acquisition, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The acquisition substantially increases and diversifies Mayne Pharma's earnings across more products, therapeutic areas, dosage forms and complex technologies," it added.
The acquired portfolio, which includes difficult-to-manufacture modified-release tablets and capsules, soft-gel capsules and transdermal patches, is expected to contribute sales of $237 million in FY17 with gross margins greater than 50 percent.
The deal is the last of several large divestitures of U.S. assets required by regulators for the approval of Teva's planned $40 billion acquisition of Allergan (NYSE:AGN_pa) Plc's (N:AGN) generic drugs portfolio. Teva announced the proposed deal last July.
In all, Teva has agreed to sell assets to Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (N:RDY), Impax Laboratories (O:IPXL), Sagent Pharmaceuticals (O:SGNT), and Cadila Healthcare (NS:CADI), as well as a number of private companies.
In Europe, Teva is in the process of finding buyers for assets including its UK and Irish generics business, which is expected to be worth upward of $1.3 billion, a source told Reuters on Monday.
The European divestitures are expected to be finished by fall of 2016, the source said.
Mayne's shares were on a trading halt on Tuesday and will recommence trading on Thursday, after the institutional offer closes.
Teva worked with investment bank Greenhill & Co Inc (N:GHL) and law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP on the transactions.