Deals
Court Fight Looms as Fresenius Drops $4.3 Billion Akorn Deal
- Outside experts found breaches of FDA data-integrity standards
- U.S.-based Akorn vows to enforce Fresenius’s deal obligations
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Fresenius SE and Akorn Inc. are squaring off in court after the German company walked away from a $4.3 billion purchase of the generic drugmaker while alleging the jilted target misled its suitor about operational weaknesses, including problems with its product-development practices.
Shares of Akorn, a U.S. maker of generic drugs, plunged Monday after the deal collapsed, and the Lake Forest, Illinois-based company filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Chancery Court asking that Fresenius be required to “fulfill its obligations” under the buyout agreement. Fresenius said experts found “material breaches” of U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards while reviewing Akorn’s operations.