King Pharmaceuticals to buy Alpharma for $1.6 billion

Under the terms of the merger agreement, King’s tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of class A common stock of Alpharma will be extended and will remain open till December 19, 2008, unless further extended in accordance with the merger agreement. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction. King currently anticipates that the transaction will be completed by the end of 2008.

King has said that Alpharma’s animal health division will increase the diversification of King’s business and is expected to provide steady cash flow to fuel future strategic initiatives, much like its Meridian auto-injector franchise.

Additionally, King believes that the commercialization capabilities that this combination provides will enhance the anticipated launches of Remoxy and Embeda, both of which are designed to resist or deter common methods of opioid misuse and abuse. Commercialization of these products, together with other new medicines expected to emerge from the pipeline, will further advance King’s ability to deliver stockholder value.

Brian Markison, chairman, president and CEO of King, said: We are excited about the combination of King and Alpharma, which will create a specialty pharmaceutical company with greater scale and capabilities. Together, we will be better positioned to deliver superior value to our stockholders and significant benefits to employees of both companies.

In addition, the transaction will create a stronger platform to deliver innovation to our customers. King and Alpharma are highly complementary and we look forward to even greater success as a combined company.