Abbott Laboratories has no intention of selling its soon-to-be-separated pharmaceuticals business to another drugmaker and any potential bidder would struggle to persuade management otherwise, its chief executive said on Monday. Miles White told an industry conference in London speculation that Abbott's drugs unit might be touted for sale was "incorrect".Abbott announced plans in October to split itself in two, in a move designed to increase Wall Street's focus on the remaining diversified medical product business, which has tended to be overshadowed by pharmaceuticals.The move prompted immediate talk the drugs arm could prove an attractive acquisition target. Analysts at Jefferies, for example, suggested it might be snapped up by the likes of Merck , Roche, AstraZeneca or Bayer in a couple of years.White -- who will run the diversified products company while his colleague Richard Gonzalez becomes CEO of pharmaceuticals -- said this idea was wide of the mark.
Abbott Laboratories is engaged in discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of diversified line of healthcare products. Shares of ABT remained unchanged at $54.15. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $45.07 and as high as $55.61. On average, 8926970 shares of ABT exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 0.
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