Boehringer Not Bidding for Belgian Drugmaker

Boehringer Ingelheim is not bidding for Belgian over-the-counter drugmaker Omega Pharma, a company spokesperson has confirmed.

News agencies reported earlier this week that the German company was among potential bidders, which were also said to include US generic producers Actavis, Ireland-based consumer health company Perrigo and French drugmaker Sanofi.

Final bids for the Belgian firm based at Nazareth are expected by the beginning of November. Omega is said likely to command an asking price of €4 billion.

In the first half of 2014, the company with a portfolio that includes toiletries, posted sales of just under €650 million and an operating profit of nearly €150 million.

The news agency Bloomberg had speculated that Boehringer could be interested in beefing up its OTC portfolio as patents on a number of prescription drugs are due to expire in the near future.