Merck's CEO Ray Gilmartin is a significant stakeholder in the company. Since a lot of Mercks' products patents will be expiring in the next few years Gilmartin put a big emphasis on investing into the companies research and development of new products. Gilmartin wanted this company to really focus on coming out with new products because their bottom line was going to take a hit in the next few years once the patent on their big money products runs out. Gilmartin found it an ideal time to invest in R&D while many of the other companies were investing in mergers which he saw as only a short term gain
Pfizer Company
Pfizer is a stakeholder in the Merck company simply because Pfizer is their major competitor. Pfizer is