EU Commission clears Daiichi Sankyo's purchase of Ranbaxy

The European Commission has granted clearance under the European Union Merger Regulation to the acquisition of sole control of Ranbaxy Laboratories of India by Japanese drug major Daiichi Sankyo (Marketletters passim). The Japanese firm is aiming to gain control of Ranbaxy, at a cost of up to $4.6 billion. The operation was examined under the simplified merger review procedure, the Commission said.

Meantime, although the transaction was cleared by India's Foreign Investment Promotion Board on July 29, observers believe it will still come under scrutiny by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs which, under domestic laws, is required to approve any foreign direct investment of more than 6.0 billion rupees ($135.6 million).