Wyeth, Pfizer To Settle Shareholder Lawsuits Over Merger
August 06 2009 - 4:36PM
Dow Jones News
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) and Wyeth (WYE) have agreed to settle
shareholder lawsuits that sought to rescind the drug makers' merger
agreement, Wyeth said Thursday.
In a regulatory filing, Wyeth said lawsuits seeking class-action
status were filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery and in federal
and state court in New Jersey against Wyeth and members of its
board of directors. The suits sought to invalidate Wyeth's January
agreement to be acquired by Pfizer in a cash-and-stock deal then
valued at about $68 billion.
In June, Wyeth and Pfizer reached an agreement in principle to
settle the Delaware case, agreeing to include additional details
about the deal in regulatory filings.
Wyeth and Pfizer continue to deny they have violated the law as
alleged in the lawsuits, and they struck the settlement to avoid a
delay in closing the deal, Wyeth said in its regulatory filing.
The deal is expected to close late in the third quarter or in
the fourth quarter. The settlement is subject to approval by the
Delaware Court of Chancery and other conditions.
Last month, Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP) and Merck & Co.
(MRK) similarly reached settlements to end litigation by
shareholders that sought to block Schering's takeover by Merck.
Separately, Wyeth disclosed it intends to file a lawsuit against
generic manufacturer Apotex Inc. because Apotex filed for U.S. Food
and Drug Administration approval to sell a generic version of
Wyeth's Protonix heartburn drug before the patent expires. Sales of
Protonix already have been hurt by the availability of generic
versions in the U.S. from other companies.
Also, Wyeth said it reached a settlement of patent litigation
with Wockhardt Ltd. (532300.BY) that allows Wockhardt to sell
generic versions of antidepressant Effexor in June 2012, subject to
earlier launch under limited circumstances but no earlier than
January 2011. Wockhardt will pay Wyeth a percentage of profit from
sales of the drug.
-By Peter Loftus, Dow Jones Newswires; 215-656-8289;
peter.loftus@dowjones.com