Teva Selling BTL Peru

Israel-based pharmaceutical company Teva is selling Peruvian pharmacy chain Botica Torres de Limatambo (BTL), say investment bankers off the deal. Ivax, which Teva acquired in 2006, had purchased BTL in June 2004 from Peru’s ASSA Investments for about $10m, according to SEC filings. A banker in Peru says BTL has grown significantly since then and is now among the top 5 pharmacy chains in the country, with a market share of about 10%. Peru’s pharmacy market is around $1.1bn in size. Another banker off the deal says Interbank, which recently acquired Inkafarma, is a potential buyer. “If Interbank were to merge BTL with Inkafarma it could end up with a 40% market share,” he says, adding that Teva is not using any financial advisors. A Teva spokeswoman says the company does not comment on market rumors. The news comes a day after Teva announced it was acquiring Peruvian drugmaker and marketer Infarmasa for an undisclosed price from private equity firms Altra Investments and The Rohatyn Group. The latter are said to have achieved a return on investment of over 30%.