FRANKFURT, Aug 14 (Reuters) - German generic drugmaker Stadawill be careful about buying businesses and companiesoutright, and for now will focus mainly on striking productionand development deals with partners, the company's chiefexecutive told Reuters.
"We are very selective but we take a look at everything,"said CEO Peter Goldschmidt, who took the helm a year ago.
The company, majority owned by buyout firms Bain and Cinvensince 2017, sells consumer healthcare products such aspainkillers, sunscreen lotions as well as biosimilar and genericdrugs, which are cheaper copies of established pharmaceuticalsthat have lost patent protection.
The new owners at the time were widely expected to pursueother deals to combine Stada with a peer in consumer healthcareor generic drug markets, but the German company has so farstayed away from larger deals.
"We have very good organic growth. Our first goal is to havegood partnerships," he added, referring to collaboration dealswith developers and producers.
Stada is expected to be among the suitors for a portfolio ofdrugs for sale in western Europe that Japan's TakedaPharmaceutical is divesting to trim its debt followingthe $59 billion purchase of Shire, sources close to the mattertold Reuters last month.
Goldschmidt declined to comment on the transaction, sayingthere was no shortage of alternative deals to pursue for Stada.
"There are five or six comparable opportunities, that arecurrently in the market or will come to the market," the CEOsaid.
The generic drugmaker on Wednesday reported an increase inadjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation andamortization (EBITDA) of 13% to 295 million euros ($310.61million) during the fist half.
Sales during the first six months of the year gained 11% to1.26 billion euros, helped by growth in generic prescriptiondrugs and consumer health products.
Stada agreed in June to buy six consumer brands, includingitch relief cream Eurax and Tixylix cough liquids, from Britishdrugmaker GlaxoSmithKline for an undisclosed price tobolster its presence in Europe.
The Hesse-based company is focusing on Europe and has shiedaway from doing business in the United States, where genericdrug companies have come under price pressure.
($1 = 0.8950 euros)(Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Patricia Weiss,Editing by Tassilo Hummel and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)