Fresenius SE, the biggest European producer of intravenous medicines, will purchase APP Pharmaceuticals Inc. for approximately $4.6 billion as a step that will help the company enter the faster-growing U.S. market for generic hospital treatments.

More precisely, the German global health-care group agreed to buy APP for $3.7 billion plus the assumption of $940 million in outstanding debt. The deal underlines the international interest in the United States pharmaceutical industry.

Fresenius’s shares fell 5.43 euros, or 10 percent, to 49.09 euros at 12:03 p.m. in Frankfurt. It was the biggest fall for Fresenius in a decade in the German trading after the company which has roughly $18 billion in sales of products and services for hospital as well as in-home medical care announced its decision to acquire APP.

The Bad Homburg-based company will pay $23 a share in cash for Schaumburg, Illinois-based APP, 29% more than APP’s closing price of $17.82.

Fresenius’s CEO, Ulf Schneider, decided that the company he leads must make its first push into the U.S. market for IV cancer and bleeding medicines, a market which is growing at a rate of 8% per year.

Most of the acquisition will be funded through debit instruments, said Fresenius. Deutsche Bank will coordinate the financing and Credit Suisse and JP Morgan will also provide funding.

“We believe we'll be able to present a very attractive financing plan. We want to avoid any unnecessary watering down of the stock as well as any unnecessary deterioration of our credit rating,'' said Schneider in an interview with Bloomberg.