Warner Chilcott and P&G: Top 10 deals of 2009

Who: Warner Chilcott
With: Proctor & Gamble
What: $3.1 billion sale

Summary: Consumer products Proctor & Gamble said in 2008 that it was planning to offload its $2 billion pharmaceutical business unit, which featured drugs in the areas of women's health, gastrointestinal problems and musculoskeletal disorders. P&G had already stopped investing in drug development because it wasn't very profitable. After months of hunting, P&G found a buyer in Warner Chilcott, which agreed to pay $3.1 billion for the business.

Warner got a grab-bag of assets, including Asacol HD Delayed-Release Tablets for ulcerative colitis, Actonel for osteoporosis, and the co-promotion rights to Enablex for overactive bladder, as well as P&G's prescription drug product pipeline and manufacturing facilities in Puerto Rico and Germany. The good news for P&G employees was that Warner elected to retain most of the pharma unit's 2,300-person staff.