RPT-UPDATE 3-Pfizer in talks to buy Wyeth for $60 bln-WSJ
23-01-2009 10:56:00
* Big acquisition could help Pfizer make up for Lipitor loss
* Talks comes as Glaxo buys UCB assets in latest pharma M&A
* Shares in Wyeth up 13.5 percent in Frankfurt trade
(Adds share prices, reaction, detail on other pharma deals)
By Ransdell Pierson and Ben Hirschler
NEW YORK/LONDON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc (PFE), the world's largest drugmaker by revenue, is in talks to acquire rival Wyeth (WYE) in a deal that could be valued at more than $60 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The report sent shares in Wyeth (WYE) 13.5 percent higher in Frankfurt trade on Friday -- their highest since August 2007 -- while Pfizer (PFE) fell 2.6 percent.
The newspaper, citing people familiar with the matter, said on its website that the two sides had been in discussions for months and a deal was not imminent.
The talks are fragile given recent market volatility and weak global economic conditions and could collapse, it added.
Industry experts said a big acquisition by Pfizer would not be a surprise, given the huge loss of earnings it faces with the expected arrival of generic versions of its flagship cholesterol drug Lipitor in 2011.
"Pfizer, more than anyone else in the pharmaceutical industry, is under pressure because of Lipitor coming off patent," said Chris Sterling, European head of chemicals and pharmaceuticals at KPMG in London.
Recent stock market turmoil has made assets attractively priced for cash-rich drugmakers, prompting a number of recent deals.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) agreed on Friday to buy Belgian group UCB's (UCB) emerging markets operations for 515 million euros ($667 million).
Wyeth itself has also been in talks to buy Dutch vaccine firm Crucell (CRCL) -- a deal that might now be in doubt, sending Crucell shares tumbling 17 percent on Friday.
But arguably nobody needs to move as much as Pfizer.
"They've got a massive patent hole to plug and they need to start working on it right now, so there is pressure on them to do something big," one banker in London told Reuters.
"The question has been whether it would be Wyeth or Amgen (AMGN) or Bristol-Myers (BMY)."
Pfizer spokesman Raymond Kerins told Reuters the company does not comment on "market rumors or speculation," while Wyeth could not be immediately reached for comment.
A Wyeth spokesman was quoted in the Journal as saying the company did not comment on "marketplace rumor."
The Journal said Pfizer would likely use a combination of cash and stock to acquire Wyeth. Details on pricing have not been worked out, it said.
The paper said with Wyeth's market capitalization at about $52 billion and takeover premiums in the sector averaging at more than 20 percent, the deal would be over $60 billion.
Based on Thursday's closing share price of $17.21, Pfizer was valued at nearly $118 billion.
Pfizer became the world's largest drugmaker with its purchase in 2000 of Warner-Lambert Corp and the $60 billion acquisition three years later of Pharmacia Corp.
COST SAVINGS
Huge cost savings from the two deals, and outright ownership of cholesterol drug Lipitor from the Warner-Lambert deal, initially made Pfizer one of the best-performing of the world's large drugmakers.
More recently its performance has flagged and its shares dropped to more than 10-year lows in late 2008, after merger-related savings dried up and its $7 billion-a-year research budget failed to bear much fruit.
Pfizer, which reports fourth-quarter earnings next week, has said it expects full-year 2008 revenue to be roughly similar to its 2007 revenue of $48 billion.
But it expects 2008 earnings to show respectable growth thanks to continuing layoffs globally which are expected to help produce $2 billion in cost savings by year-end, compared with the end of 2006.
Pfizer's biggest challenge is looming loss of patent protection on Lipitor, a $12 billion-a-year blockbuster.
The company's third-quarter pharmaceutical revenue fell 1 percent to $11 billion and would have fallen 6 percent if not for favorable foreign exchange factors.
Sales of Lipitor are already on the wane, slipping 1 percent in the quarter, due to stiff competition from the likes of AstraZeneca Plc's (AZN) Crestor.
And Pfizer's new drug to help smokers quit, a blockbuster hope called Chantix, has lost a fourth of its sales in recent months due to safety concerns. (Additional reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore; Editing by David Cowell) ((ben.hirschler@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 5082: Reuters Messaging: ben.hirschler.reuters.com@reuters.net))
23-01-2009 10:56:00
* Big acquisition could help Pfizer make up for Lipitor loss
* Talks comes as Glaxo buys UCB assets in latest pharma M&A
* Shares in Wyeth up 13.5 percent in Frankfurt trade
(Adds share prices, reaction, detail on other pharma deals)
By Ransdell Pierson and Ben Hirschler
NEW YORK/LONDON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc (PFE), the world's largest drugmaker by revenue, is in talks to acquire rival Wyeth (WYE) in a deal that could be valued at more than $60 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The report sent shares in Wyeth (WYE) 13.5 percent higher in Frankfurt trade on Friday -- their highest since August 2007 -- while Pfizer (PFE) fell 2.6 percent.
The newspaper, citing people familiar with the matter, said on its website that the two sides had been in discussions for months and a deal was not imminent.
The talks are fragile given recent market volatility and weak global economic conditions and could collapse, it added.
Industry experts said a big acquisition by Pfizer would not be a surprise, given the huge loss of earnings it faces with the expected arrival of generic versions of its flagship cholesterol drug Lipitor in 2011.
"Pfizer, more than anyone else in the pharmaceutical industry, is under pressure because of Lipitor coming off patent," said Chris Sterling, European head of chemicals and pharmaceuticals at KPMG in London.
Recent stock market turmoil has made assets attractively priced for cash-rich drugmakers, prompting a number of recent deals.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) agreed on Friday to buy Belgian group UCB's (UCB) emerging markets operations for 515 million euros ($667 million).
Wyeth itself has also been in talks to buy Dutch vaccine firm Crucell (CRCL) -- a deal that might now be in doubt, sending Crucell shares tumbling 17 percent on Friday.
But arguably nobody needs to move as much as Pfizer.
"They've got a massive patent hole to plug and they need to start working on it right now, so there is pressure on them to do something big," one banker in London told Reuters.
"The question has been whether it would be Wyeth or Amgen (AMGN) or Bristol-Myers (BMY)."
Pfizer spokesman Raymond Kerins told Reuters the company does not comment on "market rumors or speculation," while Wyeth could not be immediately reached for comment.
A Wyeth spokesman was quoted in the Journal as saying the company did not comment on "marketplace rumor."
The Journal said Pfizer would likely use a combination of cash and stock to acquire Wyeth. Details on pricing have not been worked out, it said.
The paper said with Wyeth's market capitalization at about $52 billion and takeover premiums in the sector averaging at more than 20 percent, the deal would be over $60 billion.
Based on Thursday's closing share price of $17.21, Pfizer was valued at nearly $118 billion.
Pfizer became the world's largest drugmaker with its purchase in 2000 of Warner-Lambert Corp and the $60 billion acquisition three years later of Pharmacia Corp.
COST SAVINGS
Huge cost savings from the two deals, and outright ownership of cholesterol drug Lipitor from the Warner-Lambert deal, initially made Pfizer one of the best-performing of the world's large drugmakers.
More recently its performance has flagged and its shares dropped to more than 10-year lows in late 2008, after merger-related savings dried up and its $7 billion-a-year research budget failed to bear much fruit.
Pfizer, which reports fourth-quarter earnings next week, has said it expects full-year 2008 revenue to be roughly similar to its 2007 revenue of $48 billion.
But it expects 2008 earnings to show respectable growth thanks to continuing layoffs globally which are expected to help produce $2 billion in cost savings by year-end, compared with the end of 2006.
Pfizer's biggest challenge is looming loss of patent protection on Lipitor, a $12 billion-a-year blockbuster.
The company's third-quarter pharmaceutical revenue fell 1 percent to $11 billion and would have fallen 6 percent if not for favorable foreign exchange factors.
Sales of Lipitor are already on the wane, slipping 1 percent in the quarter, due to stiff competition from the likes of AstraZeneca Plc's (AZN) Crestor.
And Pfizer's new drug to help smokers quit, a blockbuster hope called Chantix, has lost a fourth of its sales in recent months due to safety concerns. (Additional reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore; Editing by David Cowell) ((ben.hirschler@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 5082: Reuters Messaging: ben.hirschler.reuters.com@reuters.net))
23/1 2009 16:49 troldmanden 0
1309 Her er hvad GSK købte
BRUSSELS, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The world's second-largest pharmaceutical group GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L) has agreed to buy Belgian peer UCB's (UCB.BR) operations in a number of emerging markets for 515 million euros ($667.2 million).
The two companies announced the cash deal on Friday for more than 50 operations in Africa, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America, but excluding Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Korea and Mexico and UCB's new core products.
UCB shares shot up after the news and were trading 7.7 percent higher at 26.2250 euros at 0925 GMT. Glaxo was 1.7 percent higher at 12.62 pounds and the DJ Stoxx European healthcare index .SXDP was up 0.7 percent.
New Glaxo Chief Executive Andrew Witty has made emerging markets a priority, a pledge backed up in December by the group's acquisition of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's (BMY.N) Pakistan operations.
Witty told a conference in New York earlier this month that he expected to make further acquisitions in 2009 to bolster its business in emerging markets.
Glaxo is seen also as a potential purchaser of South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare Holdings (APNJ.J), after striking a ground-breaking deal with it in July to sell cheap branded generic medicines in emerging markets.
The UCB deal is expected to be completed in late March.
UCB described the activities Glaxo has agreed to buy as smaller markets for it, representing 3 to 4 percent of revenue, and said their sale would allow it to focus on key strategic areas.
UCB said the sale fitted in with its SHAPE programme launched last year, which will relocate resources to boost UCB's specialist areas of the central nervous system and immunology.
The Belgian company repeated its forecast of a recurring EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) this year of at least 650 million euros.
KBC Securities analyst Jan De Kerpel said the deal to divest non-core activities in non-core regions made sense and was at a decent four times the value of sales.
"That's cash on the balance sheet, which is important because UCB has a substantial amount of debt," he said.
The deal will mean Glaxo acquires rights to UCB brands such as epilepsy drug Keppra and allergy medicines Xyzal and Zyrtec.
However, it will not cover UCB's newer products Cimzia, for Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson's and restless leg syndrome drug Neupro and Vimpat for epilepsy. (Additional reporting by Anne Jolis and Ben Deighton in London; editing by Karen Foster)
BRUSSELS, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The world's second-largest pharmaceutical group GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L) has agreed to buy Belgian peer UCB's (UCB.BR) operations in a number of emerging markets for 515 million euros ($667.2 million).
The two companies announced the cash deal on Friday for more than 50 operations in Africa, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America, but excluding Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Korea and Mexico and UCB's new core products.
UCB shares shot up after the news and were trading 7.7 percent higher at 26.2250 euros at 0925 GMT. Glaxo was 1.7 percent higher at 12.62 pounds and the DJ Stoxx European healthcare index .SXDP was up 0.7 percent.
New Glaxo Chief Executive Andrew Witty has made emerging markets a priority, a pledge backed up in December by the group's acquisition of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's (BMY.N) Pakistan operations.
Witty told a conference in New York earlier this month that he expected to make further acquisitions in 2009 to bolster its business in emerging markets.
Glaxo is seen also as a potential purchaser of South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare Holdings (APNJ.J), after striking a ground-breaking deal with it in July to sell cheap branded generic medicines in emerging markets.
The UCB deal is expected to be completed in late March.
UCB described the activities Glaxo has agreed to buy as smaller markets for it, representing 3 to 4 percent of revenue, and said their sale would allow it to focus on key strategic areas.
UCB said the sale fitted in with its SHAPE programme launched last year, which will relocate resources to boost UCB's specialist areas of the central nervous system and immunology.
The Belgian company repeated its forecast of a recurring EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) this year of at least 650 million euros.
KBC Securities analyst Jan De Kerpel said the deal to divest non-core activities in non-core regions made sense and was at a decent four times the value of sales.
"That's cash on the balance sheet, which is important because UCB has a substantial amount of debt," he said.
The deal will mean Glaxo acquires rights to UCB brands such as epilepsy drug Keppra and allergy medicines Xyzal and Zyrtec.
However, it will not cover UCB's newer products Cimzia, for Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson's and restless leg syndrome drug Neupro and Vimpat for epilepsy. (Additional reporting by Anne Jolis and Ben Deighton in London; editing by Karen Foster)
Super tak, nu skal de bare også snart købe genmab, der er gang i m&a i branchen virker det som om.....
23/1 2009 17:14 troldmanden 01312 Jeg håber ikke på at Pfizer ender med at købe Weyth. For det betyder at Pfizer formentligt vil neddrosle deres licens aktivitet drastisk. Og derudover forsvinder Weyth jo også fra licens markedet.
Man kan også frygte at et Pfizer opkøb af Weyth vil sætte gang i en ny runde af mega M&A. Og det vil alt andet lige blot forstærke det jeg nævner ovenfor. Og det vil altså betyde færre ressourcer til at fortage mindre M&A samt licensaftaler
Man kan også frygte at et Pfizer opkøb af Weyth vil sætte gang i en ny runde af mega M&A. Og det vil alt andet lige blot forstærke det jeg nævner ovenfor. Og det vil altså betyde færre ressourcer til at fortage mindre M&A samt licensaftaler
23/1 2009 17:19 troldmanden 01314 KØBENHAVN (Direkt) Allerede mandag kan en superfusion i medicinalbranchen mellem Pfizer og Wyeth være en realitet. Det skriver Financial Times fredag.
Wall Street Journal var først med rygtet. Avisen taler om, at Pfizer vil betale over 60 mia. dollar for Wyeth.
Prisen er baseret på de gennemsnitlige præmier eller overkurser i forhold til den aktuelle kurs, som har været normen i andre fusioner i branchen.
Wall Street Journal var først med rygtet. Avisen taler om, at Pfizer vil betale over 60 mia. dollar for Wyeth.
Prisen er baseret på de gennemsnitlige præmier eller overkurser i forhold til den aktuelle kurs, som har været normen i andre fusioner i branchen.
godt at se at PI er på forkant 
Har du været på test siden idag
Billede upload på vej til debatten
Har du været på test siden idag Billede upload på vej til debatten
Ja det er ret interessant paradigmeskift der er ved at ske. Kan huske jeg på et hotelværelse sad og så et interview med astra zenecas direktør som pegede at man ikke ville se konsolideringer i top 5. Men det er nye tider. Det virker vitterligt som om nogle går efter noget rigtigt stort.
den er ikke særlig meget, mener det var 20%. Marketcap idag 50 billion og måske Bud på 60 billion. Men det er jo rygter. Hvorfor køber de ikke bare Genmab for 6 billion?
23/1 2009 17:38 troldmanden 01323 haha ja det kunne du lige bruge. Men så stor en overpris bliver der altså ikke tale om. Så skal kursen noget længer op først.
Hvis jeg pludselig ikke svare så skyldes det muligvis netudfald. Vi er i hvert fald blevet advaret om ca 1 times udfald i dag
Hvis jeg pludselig ikke svare så skyldes det muligvis netudfald. Vi er i hvert fald blevet advaret om ca 1 times udfald i dag
Når du kommer tilbage efter dit net nedbrud så er der både super reklamer og billeder i debatten
