EC clears S-P's Organon acquistion

The European Commission has cleared under the European Union Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Organon Biosciences NV of the Netherlands, a subsidiary of Akzo Nobel which is active worldwide in human and animal health, by US drug major Schering-Plough, subject to conditions.

Earlier this year, Akzo had a change of heart about the future of this business and accepted an 11.0 billion-euro ($15.47 billion) offer for the Organon business from S-P, which was higher than it had expected to get from an Initial Public Offering (Marketletter March 19).

The Commission found that the proposed transaction, as initially notified would have given rise to competition concerns in 12 product areas and more than 30 relevant national markets. To address these concerns, S-P offered to divest the overlapping activities in all the markets raising serious doubts. In light of these commitments, the Commission concluded that the deal would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area or any substantial part of it.