Bristol-Myers Squibb outbid other contenders for DuPont Pharmaceuticals with an offer of $7.8 billion, more than five times DuPont’s $1.5 billion in annual sales, which analysts considered expensive. However, Bristol-Myers said the deal was valuable in that it would eventually allow increased sales while cutting costs. This would be beneficial, as Bristol-Myers faces loss of patent on three of its top-performing drugs in the near future.
Bristol-Myers acquires Sustiva for AIDS, which fits in with its two leading products in the category, Zerit and Videx. It also gets the top-selling anticoagulant Coumadin. The deal, which does not include Cozaar and Hyzaar owned jointly by DuPont and Merck, is due to close at the end of the year.
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Novartis was reported to be the chief competitor for the DuPont purchase and AstraZeneca showed interest as well. BristolMyers is focusing its business on pharmaceuticals, as shown by its recent sale of Clairol products to Proctor & Gamble for $4.95 billion, which will now help pay for DuPont.
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