The Hindu Business Line : HC nod for Pharmacia merger with Pfizer

THE final seal of approval on the merger between Pfizer Ltd and Pharmacia Healthcare Ltd has been received with the Bombay High Court approving the scheme of amalgamation between the two companies.

The court approval came through its order issued earlier this month, Pfizer told the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The parent company, Pfizer Inc, holds 40 per cent in Pfizer Ltd and 75 per cent in Pharmacia Healthcare. The merger brings the combined holding of the parent company in its listed entity to 41.23 per cent, a senior Pfizer executive told Business Line.

Last year, the boards of Pfizer and Pharmacia had approved the scheme of amalgamation of the two companies and fixed an exchange ratio of five Pharmacia shares to one Pfizer share.

The amalgamation scheme will be operative from December 1, 2003 and Pfizer's accounts will be consolidated with Pharmacia Healthcare Ltd for the accounting period ended November 30, 2004, the company announcement said.

Pfizer Ltd is scheduled to hold its board meeting later this month to approve the audited accounts for the year ended November 30, 2004 and to recommend a dividend. Given that the final clearance has been received on the merger, the company's accounts will reflect the operations of Pharmacia Healthcare Ltd for the year ended November 30, 2004.

The global merger of Pharmacia had happened when the acquisition of the company took place in 2003. This brought two companies into the Pfizer fold - Pharmacia Healthcare Ltd and Pharmacia India Pvt Ltd, now a 100 per cent subsidiary of Pfizer.

Pfizer has another 100 percent subsidiary in India, through its acquisition of Parke-Davis, the subsidiary of Warner Lambert, which again was globally merged with Pfizer Inc.

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