The sale isn’t all that surprising. A former Merck exec, Brad Sheares, joined Reliant as ceo last January after the little pharma underwent a series of ups and downs, leading to speculation that a sale or an IPO was likely. We also hear, by the way, that Merck was looking at Reliant, but we have not been able to confirm that tidbit. A Merck spokeswoman declined to comment on “speculation.” UPDATE: A Reliant spokeswoman declined to comment.

Sheares, for those who may not recall, headed Merck’s US pharma biz and was considered to be a strong candidate to succeed the embattled Ray Gilmartin as Merck ceo, until the September 2004 Vioxx withdrawal. He was subsequently passed over and left the big drugmaker in the summer of 2006.

As for Glaxo, the deal is being done in order to strengthen its weakening pipeline, particularly in light of the Avandia debacle this year. The privately held Reliant, which had sales of just $341 million during the nine months ended Sept. 30, sells Lovaza, a heart drug that is the only prescription omega-3 med approved by the FDA to treat very high triglyceride levels.

“The addition of Lovaza to the GSK portfolio adds a new driver of sales growth in the US business,” says Chris Viehbacher, Glaxo’s president of US pharma, in a statement. “It represents a strong strategic fit, complementing Coreg CR, a leading treatment for heart failure and hypertension, and adds to our growing profile in the cardiovascular disease area.”

UPDATE: Alkermes will receive up to $174 million in cash after the deal is completed because it owns a stake in Reliant. Here’s the statement.