Teva Pharmaceuticals, already the world's biggest maker of generic drugs, has outshined U. S. drugs powerhouse Pfizer and Iceland's Actavis in the race for Ratiopharm. The agreement between the two companies is expected to take place soon, after a nine-month battle for about 3.5 billion Euros ($4.78 billion).

The acquirement is Teva's biggest since buying Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. for $7.4 billion in 2008. This Israeli drug maker has achieved the top spot for investing the respective amount in buying Ratiopharm.

Frances Cloud, an independent analyst in London said that, it will put Teva in a comfortable edge to deliver their 2015 targets throughout Europe.

Teva rose as much as 2.5 percent, the most since Feb. 23, in Tel Aviv trading. The shares increased by 4 shekels, or 1.8 percent, to 228.5 shekels as of 10:53 a. m. Ratiopharm's German competitor Stada Arzneimittel AG climbed as much as 2.5 percent, advancing 22 cents, or 0.8 percent, to 29.62 Euros as of 9:56 a. m. in Frankfurt.

The German company Ratiopharm, was put up for auction as owner Ludwig Merckle required funds to repay debt collected by his father Adolf Merckle.