GlaxoSmithKline buys Stiefel to broaden portfolio

Not a week after announcing an innovative deal to combine its HIV business with that of Pfizer Inc. (PFE) into a new company, GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) said it has agreed to acquire Stiefel Laboratories Inc. for about $2.9 billion in cash plus the assumption of debt and other payments.

While CEO Andrew Witty has been repeatedly saying he's not interested in mega-deals or mergers, smaller ones still fit Glaxo's overall strategy. And if last week's the deal with Pfizer was innovative in its thinking, this deal is a straight acquisition, albeit a smaller one than the latest mega-mergers we've see in the field.