Abbott Laboratories expects to close early next year on a $6.6 billion deal to buy the pharmaceutical business of Belgian conglomerate Solvay Group.
Abbott Park, Ill.-based Abbott (NYSE:ABT), whose Ross Products division is based in Columbus, said the acquisition of Solvay Pharmaceuticals will add more than $3 billion in annual sales, mostly outside the U.S. The deal also includes Solvay’s vaccine business and global rights to cholesterol drug fenofibrate, the U.S. rights to which Abbott has owned under a royalty deal with Solvay.
Abbott CEO Miles White said in a release the Solvay deal “further diversifies our pharmaceutical portfolio, expands our presence in key high-growth emerging markets, enhances our investment in R&D and accelerates our long-term earnings-per-share growth outlook.”
The Solvay deal, Abbott said, should boost share earnings by about 10 cents next year and potentially more than 20 cents, but that’s excluding one-time costs the company will disclose later. Abbott also could pay more than $400 million from 2011 to 2013 if certain product milestones are met.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2010.
Abbott has about 69,000 employees, including about 2,000 in Central Ohio, and earned $4.88 billion on $29.5 billion in revenue last year.
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