Tapping the Brakes on the Teva-Barr Deal

Is the Teva Pharmaceutical (Nasdaq: TEVA) and Barr Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: BRL) merger headed in the direction of the Sirius XM (Nasdaq: SIRI) deal? Investors certainly hope not, and the companies expect not -- a year-long delay wouldn't be pleasant for anyone -- but the Federal Trade Commission tapped the brakes on the merger on Wednesday.

The agency asked both companies for more information, essentially delaying the approval until after the FTC can review the additional documents. Neither company specified what the FTC requested, but when two large players in the generic-drug industry join forces, antitrust issues are bound to arise.

At this point, the FTC's additional questions probably won't postpone the close of the deal, because there's still plenty of time; the merger was expected to close at the end of the year. Heck, Barr's investors haven't even approved the acquisition yet.

The other large players in the industry, Novartis (NYSE: NVS) and Mylan (NYSE: MYL), are probably cheering on the FTC. The merger would make Teva more of a force to be reckoned with, and I'm sure its rivals would rather not have to compete with Teva's economies of scale any sooner than necessary. On the other hand, smaller players like Par Pharmaceutical (NYSE: PRX) and Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: WPI) may be cheering for the companies, in hopes that they'll be the next target in the consolidating industry.

I don't have a window into the FTC, but I think this deal gets done. The companies don't have too much overlap: Barr specializes in women's health and has a presence in Europe, thanks to its purchase of Pliva -- which is why Teva is eager to acquire it.

That should be good news for Teva's investors, as the company tries to reach its goal of $20 billion in revenue by 2012. The addition of Barr wouldn't quite get it there, because the companies had combined total sales of $13 billion over the past 12 months. So expect further purchases -- and questions from the FTC -- for Teva.

More Foolishness:

• Teva got a taste of its own medicine.
• Barr went from acquirer to being acquired.
• Mylan has also been on an acquisition binge.