German company in talks to buy drugmaker Akorn

Fresenius SE, Europe's biggest publicly traded health care provider, said Friday that it's in talks to buy Lake Forest-based generic drugmaker Akorn Inc.

The German dialysis and medical products company said in a statement that it "is currently in discussions with Akorn." The talks are still ongoing and there's no certainty of a deal, Fresenius said.

Bloomberg reported on the discussions earlier Friday, and representatives for Fresenius and Akorn declined to comment at the time.

Fresenius Chief Executive Officer Stephan Sturm, who took the helm in July, is expanding the health care group's global reach through acquisitions. Last year, the company agreed to buy Spanish hospital group IDC Salud Holding SLU, also known as Quironsalud, for 5.76 billion euros ($6.11 billion) in the company's largest-ever acquisition.

Akorn could complement Fresenius's Kabi medicines division, which specializes in intravenous drugs, and accounts for about a fifth of the company's revenue. Sturm said in February that the company could look at small-to-medium sized acquisitions to build up the business, and didn't rule out larger deals.

Akorn makes branded and generic versions of ophthalmic, injectable and non-injectible drugs with manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and outside the country. Its brand-name drugs include asthma treatment Xopenex and heart medicine Akten. Last year, the company's sales totaled $1.05 billion. It also has a consumer-health division that makes up about 6 percent of its total sales.

Fresenius SE's Fresenius Kabi division, which makes products for chronically and critically ill patients, has its U.S. operations headquartered in Lake Zurich.