Bayer wins Merck & Co's $14 bln consumer unit auction

[riky]

Bayer wins Merck & Co's $14 bln consumer unit auction

<p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/merck-co-sells-consumer-unit-bayer-14-billion-111838721--sector.html"><img src="http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/qzgwSvCRY6nvmNaZyNMQPQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTg2O3E9NzU7dz0xMzA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2014-05-06T162710Z_1_LYNXMPEA450GP_RTROPTP_2_GERMANY.JPG" width="130" height="86" alt="The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal" align="left" title="The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal" border="0" /></a>By Ludwig Burger FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's Bayer AG has trumped rival bidders for Merck &amp; Co Inc's consumer care business in a $14.2 billion deal, adding to a string of major cross-border deals in the healthcare industry. &quot;This acquisition marks a major milestone on our path towards global leadership in the attractive non-prescription medicines business,&quot; Bayer's chief executive, Marijn Dekkers, said in a statement on Tuesday. Merck, which is selling non-prescription brands such as the MiraLAX laxative and Afrin cold remedy, said it expects after-tax proceeds of between $8 billion and $9 billion from the sale, which is expected to close in the second half of 2014.[ID:nBw7dblqda] The transaction, the largest in the German healthcare industry since Bayer bought rival Schering for 17 billion euros ($24 billion) in 2006, will make Bayer the world's second-biggest consumer healthcare company, as it seeks to make better use of its distribution network and sales force. &quot;We can take these products and market them more forcefully than Merck has been able to do so far,&quot; Dekkers said in a conference call with analysts.</p><br clear="all"/>

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