To all at AZ:
You are about to be transitioned into Pfizer, the largest pharmaceutical corporation in the universe, start drinking your blue Kool-aid and listen up...this is likely how it will play out...
It will take at least 6 months, possibly a couple of months longer, to close the deal - following shareholder approval. Forget about AZ execs or the UK government, this is a shareholder issue, if Pascal cannot convince the shareholders that he can perform better (i.e. put more money on the table for them) than the Pfizer offer, its a done deal.
Pfizer is buying your corporation, this is not a merger.
Pfizer businesses are run by Pfizer people.
The lower you are on the corporate rung, the safer you are - for now. 5 years following closing of the deal 85 - 90% of you will not be at Pfizer, nor would you want to be.
Pfizer will fold AZ into their current Business Unit and Corporate structures, Pfizer people will get positions 1st, AZ personnel will fill vacancies, either existing, or that will be created to manage the additional product load. Anybody that is remotely senior, e.g. manager, director, VP, president, etc will be gone on day 1 through 90 following closing of the deal. Those of you who are "let go" will be eligible for the AZ retrenchment policy, whatever that is. For the survivors benefits and pay structure will remain the current AZ structure for +/- 2 years, but only if your execs fight hard enough for you.
You will then be referred to as "legacy AstraZeneca colleagues". (When you attend meetings you will meet the few remaining "legacy Warner Lambert", "legacy Pharmacia", "legacy Wyeth", and "legacy King", colleagues, and you will all commiserate.)
Pfizer manages the "new" business along these lines...
Year 1 Pfizer shows growth on paper because of the AZ acquisition for part of that year
Year 2 ditto but now for a full year and leverages "synergies" (read: cost cutting)
Year 3 Pfizer divests "non-core" products (e.g. WL consumer health, Wyeth Nutritionals and Animal Health)
Year 4 Pfizer goes hunting again
Year 5 Pfizer acquires another target, steps 1 through 5 come into play again.
It's a miserable experience, but you will survive...
From:
Someone that been there...
