Bob Vander Plaats today formed a candidate’s committee for a potential 2010 gubernatorial bid, with Jodi Tymeson of Winterset as state chair and former state Auditor Richard Johnson as co-chair. Vander Plaats, the 2006 Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, said today on WHO radio that Iowa needs a chief executive with fiscal discipline, vision and “the courage to lead real change.” The Sioux City businessman and author said he plans to tour the state’s 99 counties in coming months to gauge his support.

Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drugmaker, today announced that it would acquire U.S. rival Wyeth for approximately $68 billion, Reuters reported. Pfizer, which raised $22.5 billion in debt from multiple banks to finance the deal, will pay approximately $50.19 for each share of Wyeth. The deal is expected to help Pfizer cope with a major gap in revenue in 2011, when its blockbuster Lipitor, which is used for cholesterol treatment, faces U.S. generic competition. Next year, Wyeth will lose patent protection on one of its top drugs, the anti-depressant Effexor XR.

Two-thirds of workers expect increased health insurance premiums this year and more than four in 10 workers expect to pay higher deductibles, according to Principal Financial Group Inc.’s most recent Well-Being Index. The survey found that even though 51 percent of American workers believe wellness benefits offered by their employer are successful at lowering health-care costs, only 16 percent indicated they had access to educational tools or resources at work, and just 13 percent indicated they receive fitness center discounts.

AIG Global Real Estate, the real estate investment management unit of American International Group Inc., today announced its plans to sell its fund management business, the Associated Press reported. The business operates 15 existing fund programs with more than $12.4 billion in assets and an additional $5.2 billion in equity capital commitments. AIG Global Real Estate’s financial advisers, Bank of America Corp. and Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., have started to solicit bids for the fund management business.

An ING Groep NV portfolio that is predicted to generate a premium value of around $1.2 billion has been passed to German reinsurer Hannover Re from Scottish Re. According to Hannover, the book is a portfolio of ING business that was bought by Scottish Re in 2004 in the form of a quota share agreement. The portfolio is composed of physical mortality, individual life reinsurance and ING reinsurance business spread across the U.S. market.

Central College in Pella received a $1 million commitment from Ermina Dunn Dykstra of Walnut Creek, Calif. The gift will go toward funding the construction of the Orville and Ermina Dunn Dykstra Education Wing of the college’s proposed education and psychology building. This will bring Dykstra’s total support for the college to more than $2 million.

The Iowa Junior Chamber will host a speed networking event tomorrow from 6 until 8 p.m. at Legends American Grill, 216 Court Ave., Des Moines. The event is free and open to the public. To register online, visit www.extremenetworking.org.