Pfizer completes stock purchase in Coley acquisition

NEW YORK Pfizer has completed its cash tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Coley Pharmaceuticals.

Coley last month agreed to a buyout offer of $8 per share, or $164 million, from Pfizer. Pfizer said it has purchased nearly 25.1 million shares of Coley common stock, representing 92.2 percent of the stock. The drug giant plans to complete the merger over the next several days with purchase of the remaining shares, according to company executives.

After the merger, Pfizer said, Coley would become an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Pfizer. Coley develops drugs that stimulate or block immune-system receptors, called Toll-like receptors, which are designed to help the immune system fight disease.