Abbott Named Top Dealmaker for Sixth Consecutive Year by The Deal

Awards Recognize Industry-Leading Companies That Demonstrate Effective Global Mergers and Acquisitions Strategy

ABBOTT PARK, Ill., Nov. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Deal, a business unit of TheStreet, has named Abbott (NYSE: ABT) as one of its Most Admired Corporate Dealmakers for the sixth consecutive year. Abbott was recognized by The Deal as the best all-around dealmaker in healthcare.

Abbott has long recognized the global shifts in healthcare and has completed a number of strategic actions that have enhanced its diversity, product offerings and geographic reach to align with long-term health trends. This year, Abbott completed its most transformative event to date – separating its proprietary research-based pharmaceuticals business, creating an independent company named AbbVie.

"Healthcare needs have never been greater or more diverse," said Miles D. White, chairman and chief executive officer, Abbott. "We've anticipated these needs and through targeted licensing, M&A and internal R&D, we've reshaped the company so it is well positioned for continued success." 

In the past five years, Abbott has completed a number of acquisitions and divestitures to bolster its best-in-class product portfolio and expand its global reach.

  • Separated its proprietary research-based pharmaceuticals business, creating two leading healthcare companies.
  • Acquired Advanced Medical Optics and OptiMedica, adding leading eye care technology to Abbott's diverse medical products portfolio and pipeline. Purchased Vistatek, an ophthalmic surgical distributor, expanding its vision care presence in Brazil and Latin America.
  • Gained access to the emerging field of non-surgical heart valve repair through the acquisition of Evalve and expanded its global peripheral artery disease technology portfolio with the purchase of IDEV Technologies.
  • Diversified its established pharmaceutical portfolio and gained access to key emerging markets through the acquisition of Solvay Pharmaceuticals and Piramal Healthcare Solutions.
  • Acquired 3A Nutrition, a distributor in Vietnam, a key medical and pediatric nutrition market for Abbott.

The Deal's readers rated Abbott on four criteria: overall strategy and choice of targets; execution and demonstrated skill of the deal team. The survey assessed corporate deal making effectiveness over the past five years of transaction history to give a more accurate picture of deal performance over time.

About The Deal
The Deal, a business unit of TheStreet, has been serving corporate dealmakers, advisers and institutional investors the most sophisticated analysis of the deal economy since 1999. Our transaction information service, The Deal Pipeline, is powered by a newsroom of senior journalists who offer proprietary research and reporting across M&A, bankruptcies, auctions and financings. It includes a breaking news service, First Take; daily and weekly sector newsletters; The Daily Deal, a 2x daily report of the day's top stories; a research center with over a decade's worth of intelligence and a database of over 100,000 deals; and an iPad app. Our marketing & media services group produces the industry's leading forecasting event, The Deal Economy, in addition to industry webcasts and integrated marketing programs. For more information, visit www.thedeal.com

About Abbott
Abbott is a global healthcare company devoted to improving life through the development of products and technologies that span the breadth of healthcare. With a portfolio of leading, science-based offerings in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic pharmaceuticals, Abbott serves people in more than 150 countries and employs approximately 70,000 people.

Visit Abbott at www.abbott.com and connect with us on Twitter at @AbbottNews.

SOURCE Abbott