Taking Note:

fat tabbys having just swallowed all the fish in the bowl

(click to enlarge, a must see)

”The combination with Wyeth advances every single one of [our] strategies,” said Pfizer chief Jeff Kindler (right). He held a conference with Wyeth chief Bernard Poussot yesterday. (Mark Lennihan/ Associated Press)

Associated Press / January 27, 2009 Published January 26, 2009

Pfizer to buy Wyeth for $68B; cut 8,000 jobs

LINDA A. JOHNSON

Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drugmaker, said Monday it is buying rival Wyeth for $68 billion in a deal that will quickly boost Pfizer’s revenue and diversification – hello? isn’t that called becoming a MONOPOLY????…bastards… – and – if it works as advertised – help the company become more nimble.  Jack jump over that candle stick – woops!

The deal came as New York-based Pfizer set out a full house of issues: a 90 percent drop in income, a hefty charge to end an investigation, a severe cut in its dividend, a shockingly low profit forecast for 2009 and 8,000 job cuts starting immediately. That’s all on top of the colossal problem triggering this deal: the expected loss of $13 billion a year in revenue for cholesterol fighter Lipitor starting in November 2011, when it gets generic competition. Pfizer also plans by 2011 to cut about 8,190 jobs, 10 percent of its workforce, as part of what it expects will be a staff reduction totaling 15 percent of the combined companies’ workers – implying a total job loss of almost 20,000.

Okay, so can you explain to me how, with failing products, and massive job losses, Pfizer can even afford to buy anything/body?

By buying Wyeth, Pfizer will mutate from a maker of blockbuster pills to a one-stop shop for vaccines, biotech drugs, traditional pills and nonprescription products for both people and animals. – HOPE YOU LIKE WHAT THEY GOT FOR YOU, CAUSE THERE WON’T BE ANYWHERE ELSE TO GO!

But plenty of pharmaceutical industry mergers have not lived up to their initial promise, including the deals that enabled Pfizer to leapfrog to the top of the industry – buying Warner-Lambert in 2000 and, in 2003, Pharmacia Corp. Pharmacia was itself the result of the difficult marriage of Michigan’s Upjohn & Sweden’s Pharmacia, which took years and eventually new management to get beyond culture clash and fully integrate. Pfizer and Warner-Lambert, likewise, had differences over Warner’s focus on consumer health and Pfizer’s “big corporation” image, plus “no vision as to which divisions would win out and which people would keep their jobs,” recalled analyst Steve Brozak of WBB Securities. “A lot of the turmoil that those acquisitions created hurt morale and productivity – there’s no doubt about that,” Pfizer Chief Executive Jeff Kindler conceded during a news conference. “We’re in a much better position to bring on board the scientists and programs and projects that Wyeth has,” Kindler said.

The cash-and-stock deal, one of the industry’s biggest ever, is expected to close late in the third quarter or in the fourth quarter. It comes as Pfizer’s 2008 fourth-quarter profit takes a brutal hit from a $2.3 billion legal settlement over allegations it marketed pain reliever Bextra and possibly other products for indications that had not been approved. “In one single transaction, the combination with Wyeth advances every single one of (our) strategies,” Kindler told reporters during a news conference.

Those goals include increasing sales in emerging markets, enhancing the ability to treat specific diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, and becoming a top player in vaccines and biologic drugs, which are made from living cells. Pfizer, also known for the impotence pill Viagra, said it will pay $50.19 per share for Madison, N.J.-based Wyeth. Pfizer shares closed down $1.80, or 10.3 percent, to $15.65 Monday. So how does that work??? Wyeth shares ended 35 cents lower at $43.39.

Analysts were split on how good the deal is but saw no benefit for consumers. “This deal doesn’t bring Pfizer the cure for Lipitor” revenue losses, but it brings short- and long-term cost savings, said Erik Gordon, biomedical analyst and professor at University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. “It increases Pfizer’s research capabilities in biologics, and it’s good for Wyeth because Wyeth will now be able to tap into Pfizer’s marketing machine.”

Credit Suisse analyst Catherine Arnold wrote to investors that the deal’s addition to Pfizer earnings “should be massive,” and could start even before the second year. The deal likely will close, she added, and the amount of cash and debt that Pfizer has put together makes other suitors for Wyeth unlikely Brozak said it still doesn’t solve Pfizer’s long-term problem of not having enough promising drug candidates.– ?????what? “The question becomes what are they going to do to fill that research gap,” Brozak said.

Meanwhile, Pfizer is halving its dividend to 16 cents per share and eliminating five of 46 manufacturing sites. Those closings will cost about $6 billion before taxes, of which $1.5 billion has been incurred, Pfizer said. Pfizer has not identified which plants it will close. Wyeth said there’s been no decision on job cuts among its staff due to the acquisition. Pfizer said the new cost-cutting program will reduce spending by about $3 billion, $1 billion of which will be reinvested in the business. Pfizer Chief Financial Officer Frank D’Amelio said the company will put up $22.5 billion in cash and $23 billion in stock for the purchase, with $22.5 billion in debt covering the rest.

The deal is being financed by five banks: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Chase. BASTARDS!

The tie-up will bring about $4 billion in cost savings by the end of 2012 and should add to Pfizer’s earnings per share in the second full year after closing. Both companies’ boards approved the deal but Wyeth shareholders must do so. Wyeth’s CEO, Bernard Poussot, will stay on through the transition but not beyond that. The companies did not discuss the fate of other top Wyeth managers.

The deal is likely to be reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission, which typically handles pharmaceutical acquisitions. FTC spokesman Mitch Katz said the agency doesn’t comment on pending transactions. Fitch Ratings downgraded Pfizer’s credit rating to ‘AA’ from ‘AA+,’ and placed the company’s ratings on a negative watch. Fellow ratings agencies Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s are reviewing their ratings. Acquiring Wyeth adds strengths in vaccines and biologic drugs. Together, the two companies will have 17 products with annual sales of $1 billion or more. Shortly after announcing the Wyeth deal, Pfizer said fourth-quarter profit plunged on a charge to settle investigations into off-label marketing. The company earned $268 million, or 4 cents per share, compared with profit of $2.72 billion, or 40 cents per share, a year prior. Revenue fell 4 percent to $12.35 billion from $12.87 billion. Excluding about $2.3 billion in legal charges, the company says profit rose to 65 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected profit of 59 cents per share on revenue of $12.54 billion. In 2009, Pfizer expects earnings per share between $1.85 and $1.95, below forecasts for $2.49. The outlook includes costs of 21 cents per share related to financial strategies tied to the acquisition, Pfizer said. Wyeth said Monday its fourth-quarter profit declined 5.6 percent, to $960.4 million, or 71 cents per share, down from $1.02 billion, or 75 cents per share, in the 2007 quarter. Excluding restructuring charges, the company earned 78 cents per share in the latest quarter. Revenue fell 7 percent to $5.35 billion, dragged down partly by unfavorable currency exchange rates. Analysts expected Wyeth to earn 79 cents per share on revenue of $5.79 billion. —– Associated Press writers Damian J. Troise in New York and Christopher S. Rugaber in Washington contributed to this report. (This version subs 10th graf to correct to 2008 fourth-quarter profit instead of 2007. Moving on general news and financial services.)

For your edification:

The following is a list of key prescription pharmaceutical products as found on the Pfizer website, retrieved 2005-03-27. The names shown are all registered trademarks of Pfizer Inc. * Accupril * Aricept * Aromasin * Bextra * Caduet * Camptosar * Celebrex * Depo-Medrol * Depo Provera * Ellence * Genotropin * Geodon * Inspra * Lipitor * Macugen * Neurontin * Rebif * Relpax * Rescriptor * Somavert * Spiriva HandiHaler * Tikosyn * Vfend * Viagra * Viracept * Xalatan * Xanax * Xanax XR * Zithromax * Zoloft * Zyrtec

PFIZER PRODUCTS INC. GROTON, CT US 1. 20090004221Mutant Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus 01-01-2009 2. 20080262107 Pharmaceutical Compositions With Enhanced Performance 10-23-2008 ???????

J&J buys Pfizer consumer products Manufacturing News, Source : TheManufacturer.com Published :

03 Jul 2006 12:53 J&J buys Pfizer consumer products Johnson & Johnson will acquire Pfizer’s consumer-products division for $16.6 billion, chiefly in cash. Pfizer, best known for Viagra, has a rich portfolio of consumer products as well, including Listerine, Neosporin and Visine, as well as such over-the-counter drugs as Nicorette, Zantac and Sudafed.

Pfizer Product Samples ( Moms Kit ) — For these product samples you will have to call pfizer at 1-800-223-0182 ( toll free ) , press number 5 for promotions and ask for the free moms kit . You will receive samples of pfizer products such as lubriderm, desitin and a whole bunch of savings for their products along with useful information on how to better yourself as a mother ….

and don’t forget: Benadryl Dilantin Flagyl Nicotrol Purell