October 1 (SeeNews) - Croatian drug manufacturer Pliva, a subsidiary of U.S. Barr Pharmaceuticals, said on Monday it has sold its operations in Italy to Italian sector company Biomedica for an undisclosed sum as a first step to divesting non-core operations.
"Pliva [...] has divested its Italian commercial operations to Biomedica Foscama Industria Chimico-Farmaceutica S.p.A.," the Croatian company said in a statement.
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Under the agreement, Biomedica will acquire Pliva's subsidiary Pliva Pharma and have the right to use the trademark Pliva in Italy for a transitional period of up to 18 months, while the business is integrated into its existing operations, the statement added.
Pliva said it did not expect the transaction to have a substantial impact on its earnings or performance .
Pliva's shares last traded on the Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) on September 25, when they ended unchanged at 820 kuna ($160.3/112.7 euro).
Barr completed last October a $2.4 billion (1.7 billion euro) acquisition of some 92% of Pliva in a cash tender offer, and formed the world's third largest generic drugs company. Barr controls some 97% of Pliva's voting rights and has taken steps to buy the remaining shares.
(1 euro= 7.2755 Croatian kuna)