February 2, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Cephalon, Inc. (NASDAQ: CEPH) has signed an agreement to acquire Mepha AG and its subsidiaries, a privately-held pharmaceutical company for CHF 622.5 million, or an estimated $590 million, from the Merckle family-owned Mepha Holding AG, subject to adjustments upon closing.

Switzerland-based Mepha has a specific focus on dosage formulations and markets both generic and branded generic products. The company manufactures and markets over 120 products in 50 countries and posted sales of around CHF 400 million in 2009. Cephalon said that Mepha has achieved compound annual growth rates  in sales of more than 13 percent over the last five years. In addition to its existing products, Mepha has a pipeline of around 50 chemical entities planned for launch over the next five years.

Cephalon said that the acquisition diversifies the company’s business mix, doubles the size of its international business, and provides an attractive platform to launch current and future products in new, developed and emerging markets.

The transaction is scheduled to close in the next 10 to 12 weeks upon completion of certain closing conditions, including receipt of applicable antitrust approvals.

Cephalon said it expects that the acquisition will be accretive to adjusted earnings per share in 2010 and will update its 2010 guidance when it reports full year 2009 financial results on February 11, 2010. In the interim, the company withdraws its full year 2010 guidance issued on October 27, 2009.

Pennsylvania-based Cephalon is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and bringing to market medications for difficult to treat and rare conditions.

The company has a growing presence in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Cephalon’s European headquarters and pre-clinical development center are located in Maisons-Alfort, France, just outside of Paris. Operational subsidiaries are located in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Poland. Cephalon Europe markets more than 30 products in 50 countries in four therapeutic areas: central nervous system, pain, primary care and oncology.

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