Iceland's first billionaire has launched a bid for Actavis that values the generic drugs group, where he is chairman, at €3.3bn ($4.4bn). It would be the country's largest merger or takeover in history.

Novator, an investor group led by Icelandic entrepreneur Bjorgolfur Thor Bjorgolfsson, who is worth £2bn (€2.9bn) according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List, has offered €3.3bn for Actavis in a non-binding takeover bid, the drug group revealed yesterday. The deal includes €1.2bn of debt.