Drugmaker Pfizer Closes $68B Acquisition Of Wyeth

LINDA A. JOHNSON

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Pfizer Inc. and Wyeth have tied the knot in the drug industry's most expensive marriage this year.

Nine months after Pfizer announced an agreement to buy Wyeth for $68 billion, the deal closed Thursday, a day after the companies got final approval from the Federal Trade Commission and the Canadian Competition Bureau.

It's a smart — and necessary — move for Pfizer, changing it overnight from a marketing machine with some popular pills facing patent expirations into a diversified health care giant. That's because Wyeth is a major maker of biotech drugs, vaccines and animal and consumer products, as well as traditional pills such as blockbuster antidepressant Effexor.

Pfizer, the world's biggest drugmaker by revenue, solidifies that position by buying No. 13 Wyeth. More important, the combined company can improve its bottom line by closing offices and factories, slashing jobs and cutting other costs. Nearly 20,000 job cuts are expected; thousands of workers are already gone.

In trading Thursday, Pfizer shares rose 29 cents to $17.66. Wyeth added 35 cents to $50.39.