By Nadia Damouni and Olivia Oran
(Reuters) - Perrigo Co Plc (N:PRGO) is set to reject a $29 billion (19.41 billion pound) unsolicited takeover offer from generic drugmaker Mylan NV (O:MYL) as soon as this week, according to a source familiar with the matter.
A rejection leaves Mylan with no immediate alternative to a takeover offer from Teva Pharmaceutical (ARCA:TEVA) Industries Ltd (TA:TEVA) which went public on Tuesday with a $40 billion unsolicited bid for its Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-based rival.
Mylan, which makes the EpiPen product for severe allergies, now must decide whether to raise its offer for Perrigo, engage in talks with Teva, or take another route.
Mylan has adopted a Dutch-style poison pill defence strategy which makes a hostile takeover less likely, and has said it is committed to remain independent. Teva said its offer for Mylan was contingent on the company's not completing an acquisition of Perrigo or any alternative transaction.
Representatives from Perrigo and Mylan were not immediately available for comment.
Perrigo shares fell as much as 2.9 percent to $192.35 following the Reuters report.
Earlier this month, Mylan offered to buy Perrigo for $205 per share in cash and stock.
Perrigo, which has a large and attractive portfolio of over-the-counter consumer products, infant formulas and a line of generic topical pharmaceutical medicines, has long been seen as a takeover target.
Perrigo confirmed it had received Mylan's offer and said its board would meet to discuss the proposal.
A tie-up between Perrigo and Mylan would be the latest in a string of recent multibillion-dollar pharmaceutical deals, including Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Ltd's (TO:VRX) $11 billion deal for Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd and AbbVie Inc 's (N:ABBV) $21 billion offer for Pharmacyclics Inc (O:PCYC).