FTC clears Pfizer’s $15B Hospira buy

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) said Monday it won approval from the Federal Trade Commission for its $15 billion acquisition of Hospira (NYSE:HSP).

The clearance came with a caveat –Pfizer must divest itself of its Acetylcysteine, Clindamycin, Voriconazole and Melphalan sterile injectable assets, according to the company.

The news from the FTC came August 21, according to an SEC filing from Hospira, and leaves the company with only 1 post-clearance waiting period in a single foreign jurisdiction, though the region was not specified.

Pfizer also announced that Brazil has given the merger the thumbs up.

“We are pleased to have received these final regulatory approvals for our pending acquisition of Hospira. We now look forward to combining our two companies and expect the transaction to close in early September,” CEO Ian Read said in a press release.

Pfizer, maker of impotence treatment Viagra and cholesterol drug Lipitor, is making its biggest-ever acquisition aimed at expanding its portfolio of generic injectable drugs and copies of biotech medicines.

Hospira makes generic versions of injectable drugs used in hospitals, pumps to deliver such medicine and also sells biosimilars or copies of biotech drugs.

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