Deals
Record Pharma-Deal Year Not Enough to Sell Mature Drugs
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In a record year for health-care acquisitions, some of the largest pharmaceutical companies tried to sell their portfolios of older drugs -- and failed.
Drug companies have agreed to about $260 billion of deals so far in 2014, the most since at least 2002 and more than twice the volume last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Fueled by cheap debt, buyers like Actavis Plc and Merck & Co. paid substantial premiums amid competition for new drug pipelines.