Mead Johnson - Acquisition and Spin-off From Bristol-Myers

Acquisition and Spin-off From Bristol-Myers

Bristol-Myers reached agreement in August 1967 for a deal under which Mead Johnson would be acquired, with shareholders receiving a mix of common and preferred stock in a deal valued at $240 million. Mead Johnson's net sales in 1966 were $131 million with earnings of $7.3 million.

Bristol-Myers announced in February 2009 that it was going to spin off Mead Johnson to focus on its primary pharamaceutial business, with an initial public offering estimated to bring in $562.5 million and would leave Bristol-Myers with 90% ownership of the firm. A plan offered in November 2009 would allow shareholders of Bristol-Myers to exchange to exchange one dollar of stock in that company for $1.11 worth of shares in Mead Johnson for the 133.5 million shares in the firm, which would value the company at $7.7 billion based on the stock's then current closing price. The stock swap was intended to provide a tax-free exchange. CEO James M. Cornelius of Bristol-Myers said that "With a successful execution of this split-off, we fully consider ourselves a BioPharma company".