News In Brief

By Robert Kilborn and Judy Nichols

February 8, 2000

Ending a three-month takeover battle, Pfizer Inc. said it will buy rival Warner-Lambert Co. for $90 billion in stock. The merger would create the world's second-largest pharmaceutical company, with annual revenues of about $28 billion. Warner-Lambert had previously announced a $53.8 billion merger with American Home Products, but the latter now will withdraw for $1.8 billion - the largest breakup fee in history. In a sign that the deal was not harmonious, Warner-Lambert chairman Lodewijk de Vink will leave the company once the deal closes, a statement said. Pfizer also is expected to cut hundreds of jobs, most of them from Morris Plains, N.J.-based Warner-Lambert.

Akamai Technologies Inc., which provides services related to the high-speed delivery of Web content, agreed to acquire InterVu of San Diego, a developer of systems to deliver video and audio over the Internet. The all-stock deal was valued at about $2.8 billion. It would make Cambridge, Mass.-based Akamai the largest global supplier of such services, with a client base that includes Apple, IBM, Microsoft, CBS, NBC, Turner Broadcasting, Universal Studios, Viacom, and General Motors.