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Abbott Bid Enriches Kos' Jaharis
Matthew Miller, 11.06.06, 5:44 PM ET
Pharmaceuticals tycoon Michael Jaharis added $700 million to his fortune Monday after it was announced that Abbott Laboratories will acquire his Kos Pharmaceuticals for $3.7 billion.
Abbott will pay $78 cash for each share of Kos. Jaharis, a member of the Forbes 400 Richest Americans since 2005, owns just over 25 million shares of Kos. He will receive $1.9 billion before taxes. His fortune was valued at $1.2 billion in October, when was ranked 322 on our annual U.S. Rich List.
The purchase of Kos Pharmaceuticals (nasdaq: KOSP - news - people ) is aimed at bolstering Abbott Laboratories (nyse: ABT - news - people ) presence in the $20 billion cholesterol market. Kos has dominated the market with its drug Niaspan, which raises the so-called good cholesterol.
“Kos Pharmaceuticals is an excellent strategic fit for Abbott, both scientifically and commercially,” said Miles White, chief executive of Abbott, in a statement.
Jaharis, who is no longer active day-to-day at Kos, served in the Korean War before earning his law degree at night from DePaul University. He partnered with Phillip Frost in the early 1970s to acquire Key Pharmaceuticals.
The duo turned the company around with a revamped asthma drug, and eventually sold the enterprise to Schering-Plough (nyse: SGP - news - people ) for $836 million in 1986. Kos Pharmaceuticals was launched two years later. The company had sales of $751 million in 2005.
Jaharis is also known for his donations to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and Tufts University.
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