Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) announced late yesterday that it had agreed to buy Merck (MRK) out of a 50/50 partnership it has with the company to sell medicines including Pepcid, Mylanta and the infant medicine Mylicon. J&J will pay Merck $175 million and sell the brands under a new division called the McNeil Consumer Pharmaceuticals Co. J&J also bought Merck’s stake in a Canadian partnership.
“These acquisitions will allow McNeil and McNeil Canada to enhance their positions in the United States and Canada, respectively, in the important digestive health category,” J&J said in a statement.
Merck said the sale will allow it to focus on other consumer products.
“Merck decided to sell its interest in the joint venture to enable the company to fully focus on building the long-term growth prospects of the wholly-owned consumer products division that had been part of Schering-Plough Inc. prior to the 2009 merger,” the company said.
J&J shares rose 1% in early trading; Merck was up 1.6%.
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