Abbott Labs CEO: Not Evaluating Any Large Deals
April 15 2009 - 10:29AM
Dow Jones News
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) Chief Executive Miles White said
Wednesday the medical-products company isn't evaluating any large
acquisitions, and instead was focused on doing smaller deals.
"We don't need large deals to achieve our financial or strategic
objectives," White said on a conference call with analysts after
reporting first-quarter results.
That may come as a surprise to some investors. Last month, The
Wall Street Journal reported Abbott had held preliminary takeover
talks with Wyeth (WYE) in December but decided not to pursue the
matter. Pfizer Inc. (PFE) subsequently agreed to buy Wyeth in a
deal originally valued at about $68 billion.
Abbott, Abbott Park, Ill., is believed to be the "Company X"
that was cited in Pfizer and Wyeth regulatory filings as having
expressed interest in Wyeth.
White said Wednesday he was "amused by the Company X dustup." He
said Abbott was "not necessarily looking at any large M&A."
-Peter Loftus; Dow Jones Newswires; 215-656-8289;
peter.loftus@dowjones.com