Nearly 500 days after it was first announced, the deal to merge Mylan and Pfizer’s Upjohn off-patent and mature brands unit into Viatris has closed. The transaction overcame a swathe of regulatory approvals, which included a stinging rebuke from the US competition watchdog; a near $12bn round of financing necessary to separate Upjohn from its parent; and the fallout from a global pandemic that considerably stymied proceedings, adding nearly half a year to completion.
Mylan had offered clear indications that a significant – perhaps even transformative – deal was brewing. Eleven months before the proposed combination was announced, Mylan’s board of directors declared it was formally reviewing strategic alternatives for the company, claiming the stock price was undervalued
