In early March – less than three months after the acquisition – Merck announced it would close down Cubist’s early-stage research unit, laying off some 120 staff and perhaps crippling its efforts to introduce new drugs into the pipeline. Three weeks later, Merck announced that it would spend an additional $10 billion to buy back some of its shares.
3月初——也就是收购完成不到三个月——默克宣布将关闭丘比斯特早期研究团队，裁员120人，也许还要削减新药开发的投入。三周后，默克公司宣布它将增加100亿美元用于回购本公司股票。作为外部观察者，你很难不把这两件事联系起来。