By Jeanne Whalen, Dana Cimilluca and Jeffrey McCracken
Of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is close to announcing a deal to
acquire Belgian conglomerate Solvay SA's (SOLB.BT) pharamaceutical
unit for roughly 5.2 billion euros, according to people familiar
with the matter.
The all-cash deal could be announced as soon as Monday.
(This story and related background material will be available on
The Wall Street Journal Web site, WSJ.com.)
Abbott bested rival bidder Nycomed of Switzerland, which had
been seriously pursuing Solvay's drug unit for months. Abbott
declined to comment. The deal gives Abbott access to Solvay's drugs
for hypertension and Parkinson's disease, as well as full control
of two drugs for cholesterol and triglycerides that Abbott and
Solvay already sell together.
Abbott re-emerged after earlier dropping out of the auction,
people familiar with the matter said.
Abbott of late has been in a more acquisitive mode, making a
strong run this summer at purchasing a veterinary medicine business
from Merck & Co. (MRK) French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis SA
(SNY) eventually bought the asset for $4 billion.
The company has said it is looking for small- to midsize
acquisitions that can provide new technology or new lines of
business that drive growth. In the past several months, Abbott has
made three acquisitions, including deals in September to purchase
medical-device company Evalve Inc. for $410 million and eye-care
device maker Visiogen Inc. for $400 million.
-By Jeanne Whalen, Dana Cimilluca and Jeffrey McCracken, The
Wall Street Journal; 44-207-842-9217