Johnson and Johnson buys Pfizer unit

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., June 26 (UPI) -- Johnson & Johnson, which is based in New Jersey, is paying $16.6 billion in cash for the consumer healthcare business of Pfizer Inc.

The assets being acquired are personal care and over-the-counter products, such as Listerine, that had 2005 sales of $3.9 billion, Johnson and Johnson said Monday.

Pfizer said the deal, set to close by year-end, would result in about $13.5 billion in after-tax proceeds. Pfizer also said it expects that in the next 18 months it will buy as much as $17 billion of its common stock.