King pays $285 million for B-MS drugs

9 August 2001

King Pharmaceuticals has acquired three branded prescriptionpharmaceuticals, along with a fully-paid license to a fourth product, from Bristol-Myers Squibb. The treatments covered by the deal are Corzide (nadolol/bendroflumethiazide), a combination beta-adrenergic receptor blocker and thiazide diuretic, the estrogen replacement therapy Delestrogen (estradiol valerate injection), an injectable estrogen and Florinef (fludrocortisone acetate), a corticosteroid. King also bought the US rights to the beta blocker Corgard (nadolol).

In return, King will pay a total of $285 million for the products, which had combined US sales of $69.2 million last year. John Gregory, the firm's chief executive, said that the acquisition of these drugs provides King with an opportunity "to further capitalize on the reputation and relationships we have established with cardiologists in connection with our largest product, Altace (ramipril)." Mr Gregory added that King "has a proven ability to successfully market and grow sales of acquired branded pharmaceutical products," and the company intends to expand its sales force from 520 reps to over 750 before the end of 2001.

Given projected sales estimates for the four products, King is revising its group revenues and earnings forecasts up to 2002. For the third quarter of 2001, revenue estimates have been raised to $214-$224 million from $207-$217 million, while for the fourth quarter, they are expected to reach $247-$257 million instead of $230-$240 million. For 2002, earnings per share are forecast to be $1.24-$1.32 compared to an earlier estimate of $1.14-$1.20, while revenues are expected to be $1.1-$1.2 billion instead of $1.0-$1.1 billion.

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