Teva offices
Teva officesFlash 90

Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries is expected to name Anglo-Swedish group AstraZeneca's Chief Executive Pascal Soriot as Teva's next CEO, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing the Israeli Calcalist financial news website.

Soriot has met with Teva's search committee and its chairman and expressed his agreement to serve as its next CEO, Calcalist said.

Teva’s previous CEO, Erez Vigodman, stepped down in February, while Chief Financial Officer Eyal Desheh resigned at the end of June.

Vigodman’s resignation came after the company suffered a series of stumbles and legal and operational setbacks which resulted in investors calling for a shakeup.

Among those challenges was a U.S. court ruling that found patents invalid on Teva's most important branded product, the multiple sclerosis treatment Copaxone.

Last December, Teva was ordered to pay $519 million in the United States to settle charges that it paid bribes to foreign officials to win business in Russia, Ukraine and Mexico.

Soriot is expected to earn twice as much as Vigodman and receive a bonus upon signing the contract, estimated at about $20 million, Calcalist said, adding that the financial terms were still being discussed.

"We don’t comment on rumor and speculation," an AstraZeneca spokeswoman said in response, according to Reuters.

Teva also said it did not comment on market rumors.

In 2013, Teva’s previous CEO Jeremy Levin stepped down after a dispute with the board, and rumors that Teva could face a takeover bid grew.