In a bid to boost its position in the pain-relief market, Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker, said on Oct. 12 that it will buy King Pharmaceuticals for $3.6 billion.
Pfizer said it had struck a "definitive merger agreement" with King at $14.25 per share, representing about a 40% premium to King's closing price on Oct. 11.
The acquisition "will advance Pfizer's strategic objectives by strengthening its position within the rapidly growing pain-relief market," the companies said.
"This strategic combination will allow Pfizer to leverage its existing commercial capabilities and expertise to create one of the leading broad portfolios for pain relief and management in the biopharmaceutical industry, offering both currently marketed opioid and non-opioid products, as well as a pipeline spanning stages of clinical development," said the New York City-based Pfizer and King, headquartered in Bristol, Tennessee.
Jeffrey Kindler, Pfizer CEO, said the tie-up in that area of "unmet medical need" was highly complementary.
The deal "will allow us to offer a fuller spectrum of treatments for patients across the globe who are in need of pain relief and management," he said.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2010
