Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Incorporated on Monday said that it would acquire U.S. rival Wyeth for about $68 billion in a move to diversify its revenue base. Pfizer, which is the top drug maker that raised $22.5 billion in debt from a consortium of banks to finance the deal, also cut its dividend. The deal helps Pfizer cope with a major gap in revenue in 2011, when its blockbuster Lipitor cholesterol treatment will begin to face U.S. generic competition. Next year, Wyeth loses patent protection on its own top drug, the anti-depressant Effexor XR. For each share of Wyeth, Pfizer will pay roughly $50.19. Based on Wyeth's 1.33 billion shares outstanding as of October 31, the deal would be valued at about $66.8 billion. Including Wyeth's stock options, the deal would be worth $68 billion, sources said.
