The drugmaker AbbVie said Tuesday that it planned to buy Allergan, the maker of Botox, for about $63 billion, in one of the biggest mergers in the health care industry this year.
If completed, the deal would give AbbVie a potent source of popular treatments as it faces the loss of patent protection for Humira, a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis that is the world's top-selling drug. It is the second-biggest takeover in the pharmaceutical industry announced this year, after Bristol-Myers Squibb agreed to buy Celgene, a maker of anti-cancer drugs, for $74 billion.
Under the terms of the deal, AbbVie will pay nearly a 45% premium on Allergan's share price.
"This is a transformational transaction for both companies and achieves unique and complementary strategic objectives," said Richard A. Gonzalez, AbbVie's chairman and chief executive.
Allergan's chief executive, Brent Saunders, said that the proposed deal "creates compelling value" for his company's shareholders and customers.
In buying Allergan, AbbVie is looking for a way to diversify beyond Humira, which - with sales of nearly $20 billion last year - accounted for nearly 60% of the company's total revenue.
FedEx loses $2 billion as economy slows
FedEx Corp. posted weak quarterly results in its core express business and warned Tuesday that its profit in the year ahead will be hurt by slowing growth in the world economy and the decision to drop a contract with retail giant Amazon.
The delivery company reported a quarterly loss of nearly $2 billion. However, excluding an accounting charge for retirement plans and other items that the company doesn't expect will repeat, the results were better than Wall Street expected.
FedEx started a new fiscal year this month, and Chief Financial Officer Alan Graf said the company's performance, especially at FedEx Express, is being hurt by continued weakness in global trade and industrial production.
The company announced this month that it would not renew an airfreight-delivery contract with Amazon that expires June 30.
GM expands SUV output
In its effort to gain an edge in the highly profitable pickup and SUV segments, General Motors is making a new investment in one of its assembly plants to increase production.
On Tuesday, GM said it will invest $20 million in Arlington, Texas, to upgrade plant conveyors as it prepares to launch new full-size SUVs. GM builds the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, GMC Yukon and Yukon XL and the Cadillac Escalade at Arlington Assembly.
Since 2015, GM has invested more than $1.4 billion in Arlington Assembly to build a new paint shop and upgrade the body shop and general assembly area. Those upgrades will be completed next year, GM said.