AbbVie Faces Extended U.S. Antitrust Review for Allergan Deal

(Bloomberg) -- AbbVie Inc.’s deal to buy Botox maker Allergan Plc will undergo an in-depth investigation by U.S. antitrust enforcers.

The companies said Friday that they received a second request for information from the Federal Trade Commission about the proposed $63 billion tie-up. The request extends the antitrust review by the agency beyond an initial 30-day period.

The merger is among several pharmaceutical deals awaiting approval from U.S. antitrust enforcers. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s deal for Celgene Corp. and Roche Holding AG’s proposed acquisition of Spark Therapeutics Inc. are both under review by the FTC.

AbbVie and Allergan said the second request was expected and that they will cooperate with the agency. They expect to close the deal in early 2020.

AbbVie Chief Executive Officer Richard Gonzalez said when the deal was announced that the company plans to sell two Allergan drugs, IL-23 and Zenpep, to ensure regulatory approval.

To contact the reporter on this story: David McLaughlin in Washington at dmclaughlin9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net, Mark Schoifet, Timothy Annett

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