PFIZER REACHES AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE VICURON

Pfizer has agreed to pay $1.9 billion in cash to acquire Vicuron Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical firm that is developing novel anti-infective products for hospital-based and community-acquired infections.

Under the announced merger deal Pfizer will purchase all outstanding shares of Vicuron stock at $29.10 per share in cash. The price represents a 74 percent premium over Vicuron's nine-day average closing share price and a 21 percent premium over the firm's highest historical closing price, Pfizer said.

The deal would give Pfizer two Vicuron products currently under FDA review: anidulafungin for fungal infections and dalbavancin for Gram-positive infections.

Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval, Vicuron shareholder's approval and other customary closing conditions, Pfizer said. The acquisition is expected to close during the third quarter, Pfizer said.