Pfizer-Allergan to take healthcare M&A deals to above $600 billion in 2015
- 8 years ago
Pfizer Inc's looming deal to buy Botox maker Allergan Plc for more than $150 billion will cap a record-breaking run for mergers and acquisitions in the healthcare sector, taking the cumulative value of deals in 2015 to more than $600 billion.
Helped by cheap finance, healthcare has seen an unprecedented wave of M&A activity since the start of 2014, stretching from large drugmakers buying up smaller rivals to consolidation among makers of generic medicines and tie-ups between insurers.
Pfizer's tax-driven takeover of Allergan, which people familiar with the matter said won board approval on Sunday, will vault healthcare into the top slot for deal-making by sector, ahead of both energy and technology.
The Pfizer-Allergan deal is the largest ever in the healthcare sector, beating the previous record set in 1999 when Pfizer agreed to buy Warner-Lambert for $90 billion to gain control of cholesterol fighter Lipitor.
Helped by cheap finance, healthcare has seen an unprecedented wave of M&A activity since the start of 2014, stretching from large drugmakers buying up smaller rivals to consolidation among makers of generic medicines and tie-ups between insurers.
Pfizer's tax-driven takeover of Allergan, which people familiar with the matter said won board approval on Sunday, will vault healthcare into the top slot for deal-making by sector, ahead of both energy and technology.
The Pfizer-Allergan deal is the largest ever in the healthcare sector, beating the previous record set in 1999 when Pfizer agreed to buy Warner-Lambert for $90 billion to gain control of cholesterol fighter Lipitor.