Pfizer drowns Allergan merger collapse sorrows with new $5.2bn acquisition
Shares in US pharma minnow Anacor shot up more than 50 per cent in pre-market trading in the US, after Pfizer unveiled plans to buy it for $5.2bn (£3.6bn).
Under the merger agreement, Pfizer will acquire Anacor, which makes an antifungal treatment, for $99.25 per share in cash. Both companies’ boards have unanimously agreed the deal.
Anacor’s share price soared more than 50 per cent in pre-market trading after the deal was announced.
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The agreement comes after Pfizer’s $160bn merger with Ireland-based company Allergan, the biggest pharma deal in history, collapsed.
The companies blamed a new US Treasury rule changes made to cut down on so-called inversion deals.
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"We believe the acquisition of Anacor represents an attractive opportunity to address a significant unmet medical need for a large patient population with mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis, which currently has few safe topical treatments available,” said Albert Bourla, group president of Pfizer’s global innovative pharma and global vaccines, oncology and consumer healthcare businesses.
"Anacor will be a strong fit with Pfizer’s innovative business, further supporting our strategic focus on inflammation and immunology, and is expected to enhance near-term revenue growth for the innovative business."