Pfizer buys back shares

JAKARTA: Giant U.S. drug manufacturer Pfizer Inc. has increased its stake in its Indonesian subsidiary PT Pfizer Indonesia to 99 percent from 80 percent after buying back its shares listed in Surabaya from minority shareholders through a tender offer.

The company said in a statement it had bought back the shares through Pfizer Corporation (Panama).

"The tender offer gained a warm response from the minority shareholders before it was closed on Monday," the company said, adding that prior to the tender offer its shares were rarely traded.

The offer is part of Pfizer's global strategy to wholly control its subsidiaries around the world.

Dudley Schleier, Asia regional president of Pfizer, said Pfizer would pursue its plan to delist its shares in Surabaya but he underlined that the company was still committed to Indonesia. -- JP