By Donald Zuhn --
The New York Times reported this evening that Pfizer has agreed in principle to acquire Wyeth for $68 billion. The Times notes that barring an 11th-hour twist, the deal, which would be the largest in the U.S. since March 2006, will be announced tomorrow morning. According to the Times, five banks have agreed to loan Pfizer more than $25 billion to complete the deal -- despite the current financial crisis. The report also notes that four of the banks backing the deal (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Bank of America) received federal bailout money (the fifth bank is reported to be Barclays). At least part of the impetus behind the deal appears to be the loss of patent protection that Pfizer must face between now and 2014 for fourteen of its products (including the loss of protection for Lipitor, the best-selling drug in the world). In the event that Pfizer backs out of the deal, it will be required to pay a reported $4.5 billion breakup fee.
For additional information regarding the deal, please see:
• Associated Press report.
Wow! That's for keeping us updated on the breaking news.
Posted by: Pacific Reporter | January 26, 2009 at 08:09 AM