Pfizer to announce deal to buy competitor Wyeth: Report

New York, Jan 26 (DPA) Pharmaceuticals maker Pfizer Inc is expected to announce its purchase of competitor Wyeth Monday in a deal worth $68 billion, The New York Times reported early Monday on its website.

Citing people involved in the negotiations, the Times reported that Pfizer's board of directors agreed late Sunday to the takeover.

With the banking sector and all of Wall Street in a tailspin for several months, the merger would be the largest corporate acquisition since before the start of the ongoing financial crisis. The last deal of comparable size was the AT&T-BellSouth merger for $70 billion in March 2006.

Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker, is under pressure from cheaper generic medications. A company spokesman would not comment on speculation about a merger.

The two companies would have combined annual revenues of $75 billion.

Pfizer took over competitor Pharmacia in 2003 for $64 billion, the last major merger in the sector.