Bidders line up for Teva's women's health unit in potential $2B sale

Teva is working to sell off its women’s health unit to churn up cash and pay down debt, and it may have some takers.

The assets have sparked interest from U.S. healthcare and consumer companies Church & Dwight Co. and Cooper Cos., Bloomberg reported, and they’re weighing bids for part of Teva’s women’s health lineup.

Final bids on the portfolio, which could bring in $2 billion or more, could come as early as later this week, the report said, with the embattled generics giant selling the unit either intact or divided up between U.S. and European assets.

While Church & Dwight and Cooper have their eye on the U.S. products, they may have to vie with European and Asian companies and private equity outfits, Bloomberg noted. India’s Intas Pharmaceuticals and French buyout firm Astorg Parnters could get involved, and the portfolio has reportedly attracted buyout firms such as CVC Capital Parnters, TPG Capital, Apollo Global Management and more.

For Teva, any money it can gin up through a women’s health sale—or sales—will be more than welcome. The company, suffering under a mound of debt it racked up through its disastrous, $40 billion-plus Allergan generics buy, has warned that it may not be able to meet its debt covenant agreements.

And women’s health isn’t the only unit on the block. The Israeli pharma is also working to sell off its European oncology and pain business, as well as Iceland-based unit Medis. Sources have told Bloomberg some respiratory treatments could be up for grabs, too.