Leading generics group Actavis is looking at the possibility of acquiring companies but further down the line is also contemplating either going public or possibly a sale.

The Icelandic company has issued a statement about interviews with certain members of the press that chief executive Claudio Albrecht gave on a visit to Germany this week. He told Reuters: "Are we in an ideal position when it comes to enterprise value? No. Do we know how to get there and how long it will take? Yes, two to three years."

After that, an initial public offering, a sale or a tie-up with another company could become an option, Mr Albrecht added. He went on to say that it make sense to wait three years before a sale of the firm is considered as "I believe that we can fetch more than a factor of 10 if we do it right".

Actavis' yearly earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation are well above 300 million euros, the CEO confirmed, and it hopes to increase revenues by at least 10% this year from about 1.8 billion euros in 2010. In the near future, acquisitions could play a major part in hitting those targets and "we are currently looking into two or three targets".

Specifically, he told the German newspaper Handelsblatt that the firm is interested in deals in the region of 400-500 million euros. Geographically, Actavis is hoping to strengthen in Poland, Russia, Turkey and some southern European countries and Mr Albrecht ruled out a bid for generics rival Stada, because of its large stake in the German market which is under pricing pressure.