Pfizer to buy Wyeth

New York

-- Pfizer and Wyeth (parent company of Fort Dodge Animal Health) today announced they have entered into a definitive merger agreement.

Pfizer will acquire Wyeth in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $68 billion. The boards of directors for both companies have approved the combination.

The combined company will create one of the most diversified companies in the global health-care industry, Pfizer says in a prepared statement.

With its broad and diversified global product portfolio and reduced dependence on small molecules, the new company will be positioned for improved, consistent, and stable top-line and EPS growth and sustainable shareholder value in the short and long term. It is expected that no drug will account for more than 10 percent of the combined company's revenue in 2012, Pfizer says.

The transaction will be financed through a combination of cash, debt and stock. A consortium of banks has provided commitments for a total of $22.5 billion in debt.

Jeffrey B. Kindler, chairman and CEO of Pfizer, said: "The combination of Pfizer and Wyeth provides a powerful opportunity to transform our industry. It will produce the world's premier biopharmaceutical company whose distinct blend of diversification, flexibility, and scale positions it for success in a dynamic global health care environment. The new company will be an industry leader in human, animal and consumer health."