Mylan Laboratories to Acquire Controlling Interest in Matrix Laboratories

Pittsburgh, PA (Aug. 28)-The generic drug company Mylan Laboratories, Inc. (www.mylan.com) plans to acquire a controlling interest (71.5%) in the Indian pharmaceutical company Matrix Laboratories, Ltd. (Hyderabad, India, www.matrixlabsindia.com) for $736 million.

By acquiring Matrix, Mylan will be gaining a manufacturing network in India. Matrix has 10 facilities for manufacturing APIs and pharmaceutical intermediates, and six facilities are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, according to the company. Its API facilities are based around Hyderabad and Vishakapatnam, India, and its finished-dosage form facility is in Nashik, Maharashtra, India. The finished-dosage form manufacturing facility has a capacity to manufacture 2 billion tablets and 300 million capsules on a two-shift basis.

Under the terms of the deal, Mylan will acquire 51.5% of Matrix’s outstanding shares and make an open offer for the additional 20% of the company. The deal is subject to shareholder approval and customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the fourth quarter 2006.

Matrix has been actively building its product portfolio and production footprint. Matrix recently acquired a 55% stake in Concord Biotech Ltd. (Ahmedabad, India, www.concordbiotech.com), which specializes in fermentation and biocatalytic technology. As a strategic step to backward integrate intermediates from China, Matrix acquired a 58% stake in Mchem Group in December 2005. Matrix also acquired a 43% stake in the Swiss API technology firm Explora Laboratories SA and formed two manufacturing ventures with South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare. It also bought a controlling stake in the Belgium generics company Docpharma NV for $260 million.