On Abbott’s earnings call today, an analyst asked CEO Miles White about the company’s short-term M&A strategy. “Is your plate full?” the analyst asked, according to a transcript from Thomson Reuters.
The company cut a deal last fall to buy Solvay’s vaccines business for about $7 billion. That followed a January deal to buy Advanced Medical Optics, an eye-care company, for more than $1 billion.
But there are still some deals that would interest the company, White said:
I wouldn’t tell you we’re so busy at capacity that we can’t do anything else. … We’re keeping our eyes open for things that would be additions to or expansions of our existing franchises or businesses around the world. We’re mindful of further geographic footprint. I have mentioned before the emerging markets are clearly a priority for us, and our footprint there [is] important to us in a number of businesses.
Abbott may see some familiar faces as it travels to distant lands. In the past few years, Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis and GlaxoSmithKline have all made acquisitions or licensing deals to expand their business in emerging markets.
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