FTC OKs Pfizer-Wyeth merger
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
The Federal Trade Commission clears Pfizer's $68 billion acquisition of Wyeth on the condition Pfizer sell half of Wyeth's animal health business to Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica. Pfizer announced in September that it would relinquish those assets. FTC noted while the companies' human drug portfolios are highly complementary, they do not raise anticompetitive concerns and consumers will not suffer because of the overlap. The firms also recently passed multiple other merger milestones, including obtaining approvals from the European Commission and stockholders (1"The Tan Sheet" July 27, 2009)