Pfizer May Pay Penalty in Takeover Bid

Pfizer Inc. may be willing to pay a $2-billion penalty to complete its $75-billion hostile takeover of Warner-Lambert Co. Pfizer said it would also like to buy Monsanto Co.’s Searle drug unit to own the painkiller Celebrex, although that unit may not be available now. Pfizer said it may be willing to drop conditions it had demanded of Warner-Lambert, included removing a $2-billion breakup fee in Warner-Lambert’s $69-billion friendly merger with American Home Products Corp. Pfizer said it remains committed to challenging the breakup fee in court. On the NYSE, Pfizer was unchanged at $35; Warner-Lambert rose $2 to close at $92.06; and AHP rose $2 to close at $54.88.

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