Financial News

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Canadian drug maker Valeant Pharmaceuticals officially owns an Australian drug maker.

The company announced that it completed its acquisition of iNova, which sells and distributes prescription and over-the-counter drugs in Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia and South Africa, on Dec. 21 from iNova's current shareholders, Archer Capital, Ironbridge and others.

The deal, which was announced back in November, was valued at up to A$700 million.

GREENVILLE, S.C. — The proposed acquisition of Winn-Dixie by fellow Southeast grocer Bi-Lo would create a regional pharmacy operator with almost 500 pharmacy operations and pharmacy revenue of around $780 million, according to Drug Store News projections.

That would make the Bi-Lo/Winn-Dixie combination No. 24 on Drug Store News' PoweRx50 — a list of the top 50 pharmacy retailers operating in the U.S. — falling in just behind Albertsons LLC (which posted $787 million in pharmacy revenue in 2010) and well ahead of Fred's ($628 million).

DEERFIELD, Ill. — As Walgreens girds itself for life outside of the Express Scripts pharmacy network, company executives, over the course of a Wednesday morning first-quarter conference call, continued to maintain that they, along with healthcare payers and employers, will be better off for it.

IRVINGTON, N.Y. — Prestige on Tuesday acquired 17 over-the-counter brands from GlaxoSmithKline for a total of $660 million in cash. Among the brands Prestige acquired are the pain relievers BC, Goody's and Ecotrin brands; digestive brands Beano, Gaviscon, Phazyme, Tagamet and Fiber Choice; and the Sominex sleep aid brand.

NEW YORK — The tea market is expected to see a surge in sales this year and beyond, according to a Packaged Facts report.

"Tea and Ready-to-Drink Tea in the U.S.," which was published in October, projected that the tea market will grow 5.2% to $6.5 billion this year, with retail tea market growth climbing from 6.6% in 2012 to 8.7% in 2014, reaching $8.3 billion in that year.

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie Stores on Monday announced that the companies will merge to create an organization of approximately 690 grocery stores and 63,000 employees in eight states throughout the southeastern United States.

Under the terms of the definitive agreement, BI-LO will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Winn-Dixie stock in the merger. Winn-Dixie shareholders will receive $9.50 in cash per share of Winn-Dixie common stock, representing a premium of approximately 75% over the closing price of Winn-Dixie common stock on Dec. 16.

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Drug maker Valeant Pharmaceuticals has launched a hostile takeover bid for ISTA Pharmaceuticals, the company said.

The company announced Friday the offer of $6.50 per share for ISTA, an Irvine, Calif.-based maker of eye drugs. ISTA stock had a closing price of $3.89 per share on Thursday.

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation is putting its faith in the holidays by upgrading its spending forecast for the season.

After initially anticipating sales growth of 2.8%, the NRF said it now expects holiday sales to rise 3.8% to $469.1 billion. The projection may be lower than the 5.2% increase the retail industry saw last year, but the group said a number of factors, such as strong year-over-year sales and the fact that not all consumers have completed their holiday shopping lists, could provide the industry with a great gift after all.