Pfizer's big deal in limbo as it has yet to shed consumer-health unit

New York

PFIZER Inc's move to offload its consumer-health division could bring in billions of dollars and help the drugmaker streamline operations. Yet the company-changing deal investors have been hoping for may be still to come.

The US drug giant, which abandoned a plan to split in two last year, has tried - and failed - to orchestrate hundred-billion-dollar-plus mergers that would have allowed it to move its address overseas to secure a lower tax rate. Now, with tax reform being debated in Congress, Pfizer could consider another large deal to bolster its development pipeline.

"They have not been shy about discussing the possibility of transformative M&A (mergers and acquisitions) along with smaller deals too," said Ashtyn Evans, an analyst at Edward Jones & Co. "If they think it can create value for their shareholders, I think th…