WIKIMEDIA, NORBERT NAGELPfizer has agreed to buy Illinois-based Hospira, which is a major manufacturer of injectable drugs, infusion technologies, and biosimilars, for $90 a share. This is the first major acquisition for Pfizer after its blockbuster deal to buy AstraZeneca for more than $100 million was scuttled last year.
The deal, which is expected to close in the second half of 2015, comes as some of Pfizer’s top-selling drugs are set to lose patent protection. “The proposed acquisition of Hospira demonstrates our commitment to prudently deploy capital to create shareholder value and deliver incremental revenue and [earnings per share] growth in the near term,” Pfizer’s chief executive Ian Read said in a statement.
Pfizer officials said that the acquisition should net cost savings in the neighborhood of $800 million by 2018.
