Bayer offers to acquire Schering for €86 a share in a deal worth €16.3 billion

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, March 24 - Schering AG's executive board announced Friday that it will support a voluntary public offer by Bayer AG to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Schering for a price of €86 in cash, an offer that it plans to recommend to shareholders.

Bayer's offer represents a premium of 29% over the Xetra closing price of March 10. At the offer price, Schering's equity is valued at €16.3 billion, based on 190 million shares outstanding, according to a company news release.

"The executive board has carefully examined the proposal considering the interests of all stakeholders. The price of €86 per share in connection with several other important commitments is a good offer. Joining forces of Schering and Bayer will form a leading specialized pharmaceutical company," Hubertus Erlen, chairman of the executive board of Schering, said in the release.

Schering and Bayer said they have agreed to combine both businesses in a manner that balances the interests of all stakeholders. The goal is to create a global pharmaceutical business that is highly profitable and attractive for shareholders and employees, officials said.

The headquarters of the new global pharma business and its executive board will be located in Berlin, Germany. This will include heads of major global functions of the new company. Research centers will be in Berlin, Wuppertal, Germany, and in the United States at Richmond, Va., Berkeley, Calif., and West Haven, Conn.

The name of the new company will be Bayer Schering Pharma, officials said.

Schering is a Berlin research-based pharmaceutical company. Its activities are focused on four business areas: gynecology and andrology; oncology; diagnostic imaging; and specialized therapeutics for disabling diseases.

Bayer, based in Leverkusen, Germany, is a research-based company focused on development of health care, nutrition and innovative materials.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.