Pfizer wins Canadian approval for $15B Hospira buy

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) said it won approval from the Canadian Competition Bureau for its $15 billion acquisition of Hospira (NYSE:HSP).

As part of the agreement, the healthcare and pharmaceutical giant said it committed to divesting certain assets of the company in Canada, according to a press release.

“We are pleased the Canadian Competition Bureau concluded its review of the transaction and approved the pending combination of Pfizer and Hospira. We continue to work cooperatively with the regulatory agencies to obtain the requisite approvals, and continue to expect the transaction to close in the second half of 2015,” Pfizer CEO Ian Read said in a press release.

Completion of the transaction remains subject to governmental and regulatory approvals in certain other jurisdictions and other usual and customary closing conditions.

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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