Pfizer stepped up the consolidation in the drug industry on Tuesday with a $3.6 billion deal to buy King Pharmaceuticals, a maker of pain medications.
The deal is Pfizer’s biggest since its $68 billion purchase of Wyeth last year, which set off a cascade of big pharmaceutical companies’ bolstering their product pipelines with acquisitions. Under the terms of the King deal, Pfizer will pay $14.25 a share in cash through a tender offer. The offer represents a 40 percent premium to King’s closing price on Monday and is more than the company’s shares have traded for in the last three years.
King’s stock soared 39.3 percent Tuesday, to $14.14, nearly matching Pfizer’s offer price.
Big drug companies have sought mergers to strengthen their product lineups as patents expire. Late next year, Pfizer is set to lose the patent on the cholesterol fighter Lipitor.
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