> Incidentally, does anyone know if mergers like these affect which drugs get offered by a company?
I think the FTC can (and does) block pharma mergers which severely reduce competition -- they will either block a merger or force spin-offs of certain divisions in an effort to prevent the acquiring company to corner a market on certain drug therapies (e.g., http://ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/pfizer.shtm)
Finally, I don't know which acquisition is more "important", but I think the primary reason that the Tumblr acquisition makes news is because it has the feeling of a "lottery win".
Everybody likes this story: 26-year old CEO, a handful of employees. Maybe they worked hard, but they also caught the wave at the right time. Bunch of young people get rich over the course of a few years. *edit: Many people like to believe that they could get lucky and have a similar payday.
That's much more appealing than: company works hard, grows slowly, makes drugs, has setbacks, expands, has more setbacks, gets bought. Middle-aged people then get laid-off so that the acquiring company can squeeze more $$ out of WC's drugs.
I think the FTC can (and does) block pharma mergers which severely reduce competition -- they will either block a merger or force spin-offs of certain divisions in an effort to prevent the acquiring company to corner a market on certain drug therapies (e.g., http://ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/pfizer.shtm)
Finally, I don't know which acquisition is more "important", but I think the primary reason that the Tumblr acquisition makes news is because it has the feeling of a "lottery win".
Everybody likes this story: 26-year old CEO, a handful of employees. Maybe they worked hard, but they also caught the wave at the right time. Bunch of young people get rich over the course of a few years. *edit: Many people like to believe that they could get lucky and have a similar payday.
That's much more appealing than: company works hard, grows slowly, makes drugs, has setbacks, expands, has more setbacks, gets bought. Middle-aged people then get laid-off so that the acquiring company can squeeze more $$ out of WC's drugs.