Pfizer to Pony Up $3.6B for King Pharmaceuticals

Deal boosts Pfizer’s presence in pain-relief and -management sector.

Pfizer is paying $3.6 billion to take over King Pharmaceuticals, a diversified specialty pharmaceutical company. Pfizer says that King’s three main businesses will complement Pfizer’s focus and are aligned with its primary care, established products, and animal health franchises.

King’s portfolio includes a prescription pharmaceutical business focused on delivering new formulations of pain treatments designed to discourage common methods of misuse and abuse. Its Meridian auto-injector franchise for emergency drug delivery develops and manufactures the EpiPen® and is a long-term supplier to the DoD. King also has an animal health business that offers feed additive products for a range of species. 

Pfizer will pay $14.25 per King share, which represents a premium of approximately 40% to King’s closing price as of October 11. The transaction is expected to be accretive to Pfizer’s adjusted diluted earnings per share by approximately $0.02 in 2011 and 2012 and approximately $0.03–$0.04 annually from 2013 through 2015. In addition, the acquisition should yield initial cost savings from operating expenses of at least $200 million by the end of 2013, according to Pfizer.

This strategic combination will allow Pfizer to offer both opioid and nonopioid products and continue development on antipain medications. In addition to Pfizer’s current treatments for pain, which include Lyrica and Celebrex, King will bring Avinza, the Flector Patch, and the recently launched Embeda, the first approved opioid pain product with design features intended to discourage misuse and abuse. King also has two compounds in registration that have the potential to lower the risk of abuse as well as other drugs in development. 

“We are highly impressed by King’s innovative products and technology in the pain-relief disease area as well as by its success in advancing promising compounds in its pipeline,” states Jeffrey Kindler, Pfizer’s chairman and CEO. “The combination of our respective portfolios in this area of unmet medical need is highly complementary and will allow us to offer a fuller spectrum of treatments for patients across the globe who are in need of pain relief and management. In addition, the revenue generated by King’s portfolio will further diversify Pfizer’s business, while at the same time contributing to steady earnings growth and shareholder value.”