2013新晋财富美国500强企业：阿特维斯

    《财富》杂志将推出系列报道聚焦今年美国500强的员工、公司和发展趋势，本文为系列报道之首。

    当一个公司正式成为财富美国500强一员时，会发生怎样的变化？这样的地位提升对公司是不是一件变革性的大事？人们会不会觉得公司自助餐厅的食物突然变得更美味了？员工走在办公室里有没有头抬得更高，接电话的语调更庄重了？

    当我在星期一驱车向西，从纽约市前往阿特维斯总部所在地——新泽西的帕西帕尼地区时，心里一直琢磨着这些问题。这家仿制药和特种制药公司刚成为24家新晋财富美国500强企业之一，名列第432位。

    2013年的新晋公司涵盖面颇广。有社交媒体巨头Facebook，它在颇具争议的IPO后不到一年的时间里跻身榜单第482位；也有炼油商Phillips 66，从康菲石油（ConocoPhillips）剥离后一举登上榜单第4名的位置。

    但我还是决定去阿特维斯进行首场财富美国500强探访。这倒不仅是因为我喜欢新泽西绿茵丛丛的小镇和花园式办公区，更重要的是阿特维斯最近发生了很多事。该公司生产立普妥（Lipitor）和维柯丁（Vicodin）的仿制药。它拥有十分畅销的多动症（ADHD）和低睾丸素治疗药品，口服避孕药业务规模也相当庞大。要说最大的一件事，还是这家制药商在完成并购案后从华生制药更名为阿特维斯之举，这方面一会儿再详细阐述。

    我抵达后和阿特维斯CEO保罗•比萨罗坐进了会议室，那天早上刚发布了新的财富美国500强名单。我想知道阿特维斯有没有在等待这个消息，主管们有没有意识到2012年59亿美元的收入已经能让公司从2011年的第515位跃进500强？在我把财富美国500强的帽子和徽章赠送给比萨罗时，他说道：“实际上，这个消息对我们来说是个惊喜。我没有特别关注这事，但知道阿特维斯进入了500强，我很高兴，对我们来说它的意义会很深远。”

    这并不是我想象中会得到的答复。不过鉴于阿特维斯正处在忙季，我也就原谅了比萨罗没有那么高度关注500强的新闻。两周前，阿特维斯的股价首次突破每股100美元。昨天阿特维斯的股价已经达到每股107美元，自2011年初以来上涨超过一倍，轻松跑赢对手迈兰（Mylan）和梯瓦制药（Teva Pharmaceutical）。上周阿特维斯发布第一季度财报，宣布上调2013财年盈利预期。

    实际上，在我来之前，比萨罗正和一些投资者在开会。当然投资者都很想知道比萨罗手上的数据，但他们更关心的是，最近关于阿特维斯可能会被加拿大Valeant国际制药公司（Valeant Pharmaceuticals International）收购的报道。Valeant是一家并购型公司，在过去的5年里完成了逾30起交易。“当然每个人都想聊聊这个传言，”比萨罗说道，“但我们也绝不谈论任何传言，所以会议很短。”

    This is the first in a regular series of stories that will be focused on people, companies, and trends in the Fortune 500.

    How do things change for a company on the day when it officially joins the Fortune 500? Is the status upgrade a transformative event? Does the food in the cafeteria suddenly taste better? Do employees walk around the office with their heads held a little higher and answer the phone with a bit more gravitas in their voice?

    I found myself pondering these questions on Monday as I drove west from New York City to the Parsippany, N.J., headquarters of Actavis (ACT), the generic and specialty pharmaceutical company and, at No. 432, one of 24 new members of the Fortune 500 this year.

    The list of newcomers in 2013 includes companies as diverse as social media giant Facebook (FB), which made it at No. 482 less than a year after its controversial IPO, and oil refiner Phillips 66 (PSX), which debuted at No. 4 after being spun off from ConocoPhillips (COP).

    But I decided to spend Fortune 500 day at Actavis -- and not just because I like leafy New Jersey towns with office parks. A lot has been going on lately at the company, which makes generic versions of Lipitor and Vicodin, has big-selling medications that address ADHD and low testosterone, and is huge in oral contraceptives. The single biggest development is that the drugmaker recently changed its name from Watson Pharmaceuticals to Actavis after a merger -- but more on that in a moment.

    I arrived and sat down with CEO Paul Bisaro in a conference room. The new 500 had just been released that morning. Had Actavis been waiting for the call, I wondered? Did the executives realize that the company's $5.9 billion in 2012 revenue would be enough to make the jump from No. 515 last year to full 500 status? "Actually, it was a surprise," said Bisaro, after I presented him with a Fortune 500 hat and lapel pin. "I hadn't focused on it. But I'm just happy that we're here. I think it's going to be great."

    Not precisely the answer I was looking for. But knowing that it's been a busy time at Actavis, I was willing to forgive Bisaro for letting the 500 news sneak up on him. Two weeks ago the company's stock price passed $100 per share for the first time. At $107 yesterday, the stock has more than doubled since the beginning of 2011 and has easily outperformed that of rivals Mylan (MYL) and Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA). And when the company released its first-quarter results last week, it boosted its earnings projections for 2013.

    In fact, moments before I showed up Bisaro had been meeting with a group of investors. They were interested in his numbers, of course, but mostly they wanted to ask about recent reportsthat Actavis might be bought by Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX), a particularly acquisitive company that has done more than 30 deals in the past five years. "Of course everyone wanted to talk about the rumor," said Bisaro. "But of course we don't talk about rumors so it was a very short conversation."