# List of largest pharmaceutical mergers and acquisitions

The following table lists the largest mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry (those over $10 billion). Transactions are recorded by the highest transaction dollar value (rather than using the inflation adjusted values).

## Largest mergers and acquisitions

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| R | Year | Purchaser | Target | Transaction type | Value — with debt (in billions USD) | Value — with debt (adjusted for inflation) |
| 1 | 1999 | Pfizer | Warner-Lambert | Acquisition | 111.8 | 204 |
| 2 | 2000 | Glaxo Wellcome plc | SmithKline Beecham | Merger (formed GlaxoSmithKline) | 76.0 | 134 |
| 3 | 2019 | Bristol-Myers Squibb | Celgene | Acquisition | 74.0 — 95.0 | 88 — 113 |
| 3 | 2004 | Sanofi | Aventis | Acquisition | 73.5 | 104 |
| 4 | 2015 | Actavis | Allergan, Inc | Acquisition | 70.5 | 91 |
| 5 | 2009 | Pfizer | Wyeth | Acquisition | 68.0 | 97 |
| 6 | 2002 | Pfizer | Pharmacia | Acquisition | 64.3 | 109 |
| 7 | 2018 | Takeda Pharmaceutical | Shire | Acquisition | 62.0 | 75 |
| 8 | 2016 | Bayer | Monsanto | Acquisition | 54.5 — 63.5 | 69 — 81 |
| 9 | 2009 | Merck & Co. | Schering-Plough | Acquisition | 47.1 | 67 |
| 10 | 2009 | Roche | Genentech | Acquisition | 44.0 | 62 |
| 11 | 2014 | Medtronic | Covidien | Acquisition | 42.3 | 54 |
| 12 | 2015 | Teva Pharmaceutical Industries | Actavis | Business Unit | 40.5 | 52 |
| 13 | 2010 | Novartis | Alcon | Acquisition | 39.3 | 55 |
| 14 | 2016 | Shire | Baxalta | Acquisition Unit | 32.0 — 35.0 | 41 — 44 |
| 15 | 2016 | Abbott Laboratories | St Jude Medical | Acquisition | 30.5 | 39 |
| 16 | 1998 | Astra AB | Zeneca | Merger (formed AstraZeneca) | 30.4 | 57 |
| 17 | 2017 | Johnson & Johnson | Actelion | Acquisition | 30.0 | 37 |
| 18 | 1996 | Ciba-Geigy | Sandoz | Merger (formed Novartis) | 29.0 | 56 |
| 19 | 2006 | Boston Scientific Abbott Laboratories | Guidant | Acquisition | 27.2 | 41 |
| 20 | 1999 | Pharmacia & Upjohn | Monsanto | Merger | 25.2 | 46 |
| 21 | 2016 | Abbott Laboratories | St Jude Medical | Acquisition | 25.0 — 30.5 | 32 — 39 |
| 22 | 2015 | AbbVie | Pharmacyclics | Acquisition | 21.0 | 27 |
| 23 | 2014 | Actavis | Forest Laboratories | Acquisition | 20.7 | 27 |
| 24 | 2011 | Sanofi | Genzyme Corporation | Acquisition | 20.1 | 27 |
| 25 | 2012 | Johnson & Johnson | Synthes | Acquisition | 19.7 | 26 |
| 26 | 2006 | Bayer | Schering | Acquisition | 18.4 | 28 |
| 27 | 2016 | Quintiles | IMS Health | Merger (formed QuintilesIMS) | 17.6 | 22 |
| 28 | 2015 | Pfizer | Hospira | Acquisition | 17.0 | 22 |
| 29 | 2014 | Merck Group | Sigma-Aldrich | Acquisition | 17.0 | 22 |
| 30 | 2001 | Amgen | Immunex | Acquisition | 16.8 | 29 |
| 31 | 2006 | Johnson & Johnson | Pfizer Consumer Health | Business Unit | 16.6 | 25 |
| 32 | 2014 | Novartis | GlaxoSmithKline Oncology | Business Unit | 16.0 | 21 |
| 33 | 2015 | Valeant | Salix Pharmaceuticals | Acquisition | 15.8 | 20 |
| 34 | 2007 | AstraZeneca | MedImmune | Acquisition | 14.7 | 22 |
| 35 | 2007 | Schering Plough | Organon International | Acquisition | 14.5 | 21 |
| 36 | 1995 | Glaxo | Wellcome | Acquisition | 14.2 | 28 |
| 37 | 2014 | Bayer | Merck & Co Consumer Health | Business Unit | 14.2 | 18 |
| 38 | 2014 | Zimmer Inc. | Biomet Inc. | Acquisition | 13.4 | 17 |
| 39 | 2019 | Amgen | Otezla (drug programme) | Acquisition | 13.4 | 16 |
| 40 | 2006 | Merck Group | Serono | Acquisition | 13.2 | 20 |
| 41 | 2018 | GlaxoSmithKline | GlaxoSmithKline–Novartis Consumer Healthcare | Acquisition | 13.0 | 16 |
| 42 | 2016 | Boehringer Ingelheim | Sanofi Animal Health (Merial) | Business Unit | 12.4 | 16 |
| 43 | 2017 | Gilead Sciences | Kite Pharma | Acquisition | 11.9 | 15 |
| 44 | 2018 | Sanofi | Bioverativ | Acquisition | 11.6 | 14 |
| 45 | 2011 | Gilead Sciences | Pharmasset | Acquisition | 11.2 | 15 |
| 46 | 2013 | Amgen | Onyx Pharmaceuticals | Acquisition | 10.4 | 14 |
| 47 | 2020 | AbbVie | Allergan | Acquisition | 63.0 | 74 |
| 48 | 2024 | Novo Holdings A/S | Catalent | Acquisition | 16.5 | 17 |

## Failed mergers and acquisitions

| Rank | Year | Purchaser | Target | Value (in billions USD) | Value (adjusted for inflation) |
| 1 | 2015 | Pfizer | Allergan, plc | 160 | 206 | In November 2015 Pfizer announced it would acquire Allergan, plc for $160 billion ($206 billion, adjusted for inflation). However, this deal was cancelled in April 2016 due to new US tax inversion rules. Had this transaction been completed, this would have been the largest within this industry. |
| 2 | 2014 | Pfizer | Astra Zeneca | 123 | 158 | Significant concerns were raised by the UK Government over job security, in the end leading to a deal being abandoned due to resistance from the AstraZeneca Board. |
| 3 | 2014 | Pfizer | Astra Zeneca | 106 | 137 | AstraZeneca claimed the deal undervalued the company. |
| 4 | 2014 | Pfizer | Astra Zeneca | 99 | 127 | AstraZeneca claimed the deal undervalued the company. |
| 5 | 1999 | Pfizer | Warner–Lambert | 82.4 | 151 | Pfizer made a hostile bid, just after the announcement of a $72 billion deal with Wyeth, the eventual purchase price would be in excess of $90 billion. |
| 6 | 1999 | Wyeth | Warner–Lambert | 72 | 132 | Wyeth confirmed it has agreed a $200 billion deal with Warner–Lambert, causing Pfizer to make a hostile bid, just after the announcement. |
| 7 | 1999 | Wyeth | Warner–Lambert | 65 | 119 | The two companies discussed a potential merger, uniting two of the largest pharmaceutical companies. This was eventually thwarted by Pfizer, in order to maintain control of the blockbuster drug - Lipitor. |
| 8 | 2016 | Bayer AG | Monsanto Company Inc. | 65 | 83 | Bayer advanced talks with Monsanto's management and subsequently raised its off by $3 billion, to more than $65 billion - which represented a 2 percent increase on its previous offer. The eventual purchase price would be more than $66 billion. |
| 9 | 2018 | Takeda Pharmaceutical | Shire | 62.5 | 76 | Third bid, unanimously rejected by the Shire Board, who concluded that it significantly undervalue the company, its growth prospects as well as pipeline. |
| 10 | 2016 | Bayer AG | Monsanto Company Inc. | 62 | 79 | Bayer initially opened negotiations with an offer of $125 per Monsanto share, however management felt this undervalued the company. |
| 11 | 2018 | Takeda Pharmaceutical | Shire | 61 | 74 | Second bid, unanimously rejected by the Shire Board, who concluded that it significantly undervalue the company, its growth prospects as well as pipeline. |
| 12 | 2018 | Takeda Pharmaceutical | Shire | 58.2 | 71 | First bid, unanimously rejected by the Shire Board, who concluded that it significantly undervalue the company, its growth prospects as well as pipeline. |
| 13 | 2014 | Valeant Pharmaceuticals | Allergan, Inc | 54 | 70 | Valeant had pursued Botox-maker Allergan for six months. After a protracted court battle with Valeant, Bill Ackman and his Pershing Square Capital Management hedgefund on one side (which then owned 10% of Allergan) and Allergan on the other, Actavis entered the fray with a $66 billion white knight bid. |
| 14 | 2014 | AbbVie | Shire Pharmaceuticals | 54 | 70 | The two companies had agreed to a $54 billion deal that would allow AbbVie to move its headquarters overseas to Europe, reducing their corporate tax rate. However, the U.S. Treasury passed laws, tightening down on tax inversion deals just before the merger was completed, making the agreement much less profitable for AbbVie. |
| 15 | 2014 | Valeant Pharmaceuticals | Allergan, Inc | 53.3 | 69 | Valeant raised its unsolicited offer for Allergan a second time, to $53.3 billion, increasing the cash portion of the bid in an effort to win the backing of the company, with the cash-and-stock portion of the bid valuing each Allergan share at $179.25. |
| 16 | 2014 | Valeant Pharmaceuticals | Allergan, Inc | 49.4 | 64 | Valeant raised its unsolicited offer for Allergan Inc. to $49.4 billion, adding more cash to the bid in an effort to win backing from Allergan and its investors, with the value of each share rising to $166.16 per Allergan share. |
| 17 | 2015 | Monsanto Company Inc. | Syngenta AG | 47 | 60 | Monsanto dropped its hostile bid for Syngenta, refocusing on its five-year plan to double earnings and avoid a backlash from large shareholders. Subsequently, Bayer offered to purchase Monsanto, with ChemChina offering to acquire Syngenta. |
| 18 | 2014 | Monsanto Company Inc. | Syngenta AG | 45 | 58 | Syngenta rejecteded another unsolicited offer from Monsanto, worth $45 billion, with management saying it undervalued the company and a merger would carry significant risks. Monsanto offered to acquire the company at a price of 449 Swiss francs per Syngenta share, with approximately 45% of the price paid in cash. |
| 19 | 2014 | Valeant Pharmaceuticals | Allergan, Inc | 45 | 58 | Valeant Pharmaceuticals and activist investor Bill Ackman offered to buy Botox maker Allergan, proposing a cash-and-stock deal worth about $152.89. |
| 20 | 2014 | Monsanto Company Inc. | Syngenta AG | 40 | 51 | Monsanto weighed $40 billion unsolicited bid for Swiss rival, Syngenta aiming to avoid US corporation taxes. Monsanto and Syngenta held preliminary talks with both sets of advisers in the preceding few months, with talks centered on a combination. However, Syngenta's management decided against negotiations. |
| 21 | 2015 | Teva Pharmaceutical Industries | Mylan | 40 | 51 | In April, Teva offered to acquire Mylan for $40 billion, only a fortnight after Mylan offered to acquire Perrigo for $29 billion. Teva's offer for Mylan is contingent on Mylan abandoning its acquisition of Perrigo. Mylan stated in June 2015 that Teva's disclosure that it had a 1.35 percent stake in Mylan violated US anti-trust rules. |
| 22 | 2015 | Mylan | Perrigo | 26 | 33 | In order for the hostile takeover to go through successfully, Mylan needed 50% of Perrigos shares to be tendered under the deal. However, only 40% or 58 million shares were tendered and the hostile takeover fell through. |
| 23 | 2004 | Johnson & Johnson | Guidant | 25.4 | 41 | Johnson & Johnson announced that it was acquiring Guidant on December 15, 2004, for $76 a share, with the deal being approved later approved on April 27, 2005, by Guidant shareholders. However, on May 25 of the same year, Guidant reported 26 cases of implantable defibrillator failure, including a death. Johnson & Johnson announced the possibility of them pulling out from the deal, Guidant then sued Johnson & Johnson in an attempt to enforce the acquisition. However they later re-negotiated a lower price of $21.5 billion. |
| 24 | 2006 | Boston Scientific | Guidant | 25.0 | 38 | A day after Johnson & Johnson raised their price for Guidant to $23.2 billion, Boston Scientific announced a further increased offer. |
| 25 | 2005 | Boston Scientific | Guidant | 24.6 | 38 | With the lower re-negotiated a lower price of $21.5 billion between Johnson & Johnson and Guidant, Boston Scientific announced an unsolicited offer of $24.6 billion for Guidant (an offer of $72 per share of Guidant, $36 in cash and a fixed number of Boston Scientific shares valued at $36 a share). |
| 26 | 2006 | Johnson & Johnson | Guidant | 24.2 | 37 | After Boston Scientific increased their offer to $25 billion, Johnson & Johnson further increased their offer to $24.2 billion. |
| 27 | 2006 | Johnson & Johnson | Guidant | 23.2 | 35 | After the re-negotiated a lower price of $21.5 billion was trumped by Boston Scientifics offer of $24.6 billion, Johnson & Johnson raised their offer to $23.2 billion. |
| 28 | 2015 | Endo International | Salix Pharmaceuticals | 11.2 | 14 | Endo withdrew its $11.2 billion cash & stock offer for Salix, ending its plans to outbid Valeant Pharmaceuticals International for the company. |