Actavis to buy Warner Chilcott in $5 billion stock deal

By Caroline Humer and Ransdell Pierson (Reuters) – Generic drugmaker Actavis Inc, itself a recent takeover target, said on Monday it would buy specialty pharmaceutical company Warner Chilcott Plc for $5 billion in stock to expand its branded drug portfolio, lower taxes and increase profits. The Warner Chilcott acquisition brings two new businesses – gastroenterology and dermatology – and adds additional women’s health drugs like branded contraceptives to Actavis, which makes and sells drugs that are no longer under patent protection. …