Pfizer checkmates King

Pfizer Inc.and King Pharmaceuticals have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Pfizer will acquire King, a diversified specialty pharmaceutical discovery and clinical development company, for $3.6 billion in cash, or $14.25 per share.

Pfizer Inc.(www.pfizer.com) and King Pharmaceuticals have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Pfizer will acquire King, a diversified specialty pharmaceutical discovery and clinical development company, for $3.6 billion in cash, or $14.25 per share, which represents a premium of approximately 40% to King's closing price as of October 11, 2010, and 46% per cent to the one-month average closing price as of the same date. The transaction was approved by the boards of both companies.

The transaction will further expand Pfizer's business profile, providing immediate, incremental diversified revenues generated by King's portfolio, including a prescription pharmaceutical business focused on delivering new formulations of pain treatments designed to discourage common methods of misuse and abuse, the Meridian auto- injector business for emergency drug delivery, which develops and manufactures the EpiPen and