The field of bidders for Germany's second-largest generic-drug maker, Ratiopharm, will be narrowed to one or two contestants this week, people familiar with the auction have told Reuters. Here is how buying Ratiopharm could transform each of the contestants that sources say remain in an auction which may produce a €3 billion bid including debt:

• Teva
Israel's Teva has said it plans to more than double global sales and almost triple sales in Europe by 2015, a venture analysts say would require acquisitions worth $15 billion. Finance chief Eyal Desheh said that acquisitions remained an integral part of company strategy, particularly outside the U.S., but he declined to comment on specific deals. Ratiopharm could be Teva's fast track to the No. 1 spot in Germany's generics market, the world's second biggest, where Teva now trails Novartis' Sandoz unit with its Hexal brand, Ratiopharm and Stada.

Analysts at Credit Suisse said a takeover would move Teva's global generics market share to around 19 percent, making headway over No. 2 Sandoz at about 11%.

"Potential synergies that Teva may capture could be at least in the $100-$150 million range," said Jefferies analyst David Windley. "Teva seems to have the infrastructure to capture cost synergies," Windley said, echoing analysts' assessments that Teva stood to gain more than rivals from cutting costs and jobs.

A person familiar with Teva's thinking said Teva has found Ratiopharm's production and logistics to be on par with its own and that they would become part of its own supply chain. The deal would also reduce Teva's reliance on Copaxone, the most commonly used multiple sclerosis drug, which accounts for 20% of group sales.

• Pfizer
The world's largest drug company, previously seen as an unlikely buyer, has re-emerged despite a relatively unfavorable impression it left with regional lawmakers in southwestern Germany, where Ratiopharm is based, according to sources. Pfizer has struck a string of collaboration deals and acquisitions to bolster its range of generics, particularly injectable drugs. An alliance with India's Strides Arcolab last month marked the latest step.

"Ratiopharm's scale could help Pfizer reduce the cost base of its tablet and capsule generic business through economies of scale," Credit Suisse analyst Ravi Mehrotra said. Pfizer's oral generics business is less efficient than its injectable generics operations, Mehrotra added.

The U.S. company already derives more than $10 billion in sales from off-patent drugs at its so-called "established products" unit - to a large part from its own medicines that have lost exclusivity.

• Actavis, backed by Swedish buyout firm EQT
Sources have said that debt-laden Actavis sought backing from EQT for the takeover bid in an aggressive move to boost the Icelandic firm's market value after it failed to find a new owner last April.

"The smaller size of Actavis may appeal to the family-owned seller," analysts at Jefferies said. "Also, an Actavis acquisition may be somewhat more job-friendly."

Deutsche Bank, Actavis's main creditor, is said to have approved the bidding for Ratiopharm because its exposure as lender would then rest on a larger company. Germany's biggest bank has lent €4 billion to Actavis, backing the 2007 buyout of Actavis by Icelandic billionaire Bjorgolfur Thor Bjorgolfsson.

Tying up with Ratiopharm would make the Nordic consortium the world's third-largest generics player, up from No. 5 now, according to Credit Suisse estimates.