Business and Basis of Presentation

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Business and Basis of Presentation

Business and Basis of Presentation

Business: Akorn, Inc., together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries (collectively “Akorn,” the “Company,” “we,” “our” or “us”) is a specialty generic pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets generic and branded prescription pharmaceuticals, branded as well as private-label over-the-counter consumer health products and animal health pharmaceuticals. We are an industry leader in the development, manufacturing and marketing of specialized generic pharmaceutical products in alternative dosage forms. We focus on difficult-to-manufacture sterile and non-sterile dosage forms including, but not limited to, ophthalmics, injectables, oral liquids, otics, topicals, inhalants and nasal sprays. In previous years, the Company completed numerous mergers, acquisitions and product acquisitions which resulted in significant growth.

Akorn, Inc. is a Louisiana corporation founded in 1971 in Abita Springs, Louisiana. In 1997, we relocated our corporate headquarters to the Chicago, Illinois area and currently maintain our principal corporate offices in Lake Forest, Illinois. We have pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in Decatur, Illinois; Somerset, New Jersey; Amityville, New York; Hettlingen, Switzerland; and Paonta Sahib, Himachal Pradesh, India. We operate a central distribution warehouse in Gurnee, Illinois and additional distribution facilities in Amityville, New York and Decatur, Illinois. Our research and development (“R&D”) centers are located in Vernon Hills, Illinois and Cranbury, New Jersey. We maintain other corporate offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Gurgaon, Haryana, India.

During the three month periods ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, the Company reported results for two reportable segments: Prescription Pharmaceuticals and Consumer Health. For further detail concerning our reportable segments please see Part I, Item 1, Note 10 - “Segment Information.”

Our common shares are traded on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol AKRX. Our principal corporate office is located at 1925 West Field Court Suite 300, Lake Forest, Illinois 60045, with telephone number (847) 279-6100.

Terminated Merger Agreement: On April 24, 2017, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Fresenius Kabi AG, a German stock corporation (“Parent”), Quercus Acquisition, Inc., a Louisiana corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (“Merger Sub”) and, solely for purposes of Article VIII thereof, Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA, a German partnership limited by shares.

On April 22, 2018, Fresenius Kabi AG delivered to Akorn a letter purporting to terminate the Merger Agreement. On April 23, 2018, Akorn filed a verified complaint entitled Akorn, Inc. v. Fresenius Kabi AG, Quercus Acquisition, Inc. and Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA, in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware for breach of contract and declaratory judgment. The complaint alleged, among other things, that (i) the defendants anticipatorily breached their obligations under the Merger Agreement by repudiating their obligation to close the Merger, (ii) the defendants knowingly and intentionally breached their obligations under the Merger Agreement by working to slow the antitrust approval process and by engaging in a series of actions designed to hamper and ultimately block the Merger and (iii) Akorn had performed its obligations under the Merger Agreement, and was ready, willing and able to close the Merger. The complaint sought, among other things, a declaration that Fresenius Kabi AG's termination was invalid, an order enjoining the defendants from terminating the Merger Agreement, and an order compelling the defendants to specifically perform their obligations under the Merger Agreement to use reasonable best efforts to consummate and make effective the Merger. On April 30, 2018, the defendants filed a verified counterclaim alleging that, due primarily to purported data integrity deficiencies, the Company had breached representations, warranties and covenants in the Merger Agreement, and that it had experienced a material adverse effect. The verified counterclaim sought, among other things, a declaration that defendants’ purported termination of the Merger Agreement was valid and that defendants were not obligated to consummate the transaction, and damages.

Following expedited discovery, from July 9 to 13, 2018, the Court of Chancery held a trial on the parties’ claims (the “Delaware Action”). At the conclusion of trial, the Court of Chancery ordered post-trial briefing, which was completed on August 20, 2018, and a post-trial hearing, which was held on August 23, 2018.

On October 1, 2018, the Court of Chancery issued an opinion (the “Opinion”) denying Akorn’s claims for relief and concluding that Fresenius Kabi AG had validly terminated the Merger Agreement. The Court of Chancery concluded that Akorn had experienced a material adverse effect due to its financial performance following the signing of the Merger

Agreement; that Akorn had breached representations and warranties in the Merger Agreement and that those breaches would reasonably be expected to give rise to a material adverse effect; that Akorn had materially breached covenants in the Merger Agreement; and that Fresenius was materially in compliance with its own contractual obligations. On October 17, 2018, the Court of Chancery entered partial final judgment against Akorn on its claims and in favor of the Fresenius parties on their claims for declaratory judgment. The Court of Chancery entered an order holding proceedings on the Fresenius parties’ damages claims in abeyance pending the resolution of any appeal from the partial final judgment.

On October 18, 2018, Akorn filed a notice of appeal from the Opinion and the partial final judgment, as well as a motion seeking expedited treatment of its appeal. On October 23, 2018, the Delaware Supreme Court granted Akorn's motion for expedited treatment and set a hearing on Akorn's appeal for December 5, 2018.

On December 7, 2018, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Chancery’s opinion denying Akorn’s claims for declaratory and injunctive relief and granting Defendants’ counterclaim for a declaration that the termination was valid. On December 27, 2018, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a mandate returning the case to the Court of Chancery for consideration of all remaining issues, including the Fresenius parties’ damages claims.

On January 15, 2019, the parties filed a joint letter to the Court of Chancery seeking thirty days to discuss the potential resolution of the Fresenius parties’ damages claims. On February 19, 2019, the parties filed a joint letter advising the Court that they have been unable to resolve the Fresenius parties’ damages claims. The Fresenius parties stated their intention to seek leave to amend their counterclaims to assert a new claim for fraud and that they would seek an expedited trial on such claim purportedly due to Akorn’s financial condition. Akorn stated that it expected to oppose the motions for amendment and expedition, and that it would move to dismiss the Fresenius parties’ damages claims in their entirety.

On February 20, 2019, the Fresenius parties filed a motion for leave to amend and supplement their counterclaim. The Fresenius parties’ proposed amended and supplemented counterclaim alleged that Akorn fraudulently induced Fresenius to enter into the Merger Agreement and thereafter breached contractual representations and warranties and covenants therein. It sought damages of approximately $102 million. On February 25, 2019, Akorn filed an opposition to the Fresenius parties’ motion for leave to amend and supplement their counterclaim, arguing that the motion was untimely and prejudicial. On February 27, 2019, the Fresenius parties filed a reply in further support of their motion to file an amended and supplemented counterclaim. On February 28, 2019, the Court of Chancery denied the Fresenius parties’ motion for leave to file an amended and supplemented counterclaim. On March 15, 2019, the Fresenius parties served interrogatories in furtherance of their claim for damages purportedly resulting from breaches of contractual representations and warranties and covenants in the Merger Agreement.

Basis of Presentation: The Company’s financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP") for interim financial information and accordingly do not include all the information and footnotes required by GAAP for annual financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments of a normal and recurring nature considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included in these financial statements. Operating results for the three month period ended March 31, 2019, are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes for the year ended December 31, 2018, included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 1, 2019.