Roche's BM Takeover On Verge Of Collapse ?

The planned acquisition of the German drugmaker Boehringer Mannheim bythe Roche group of Switzerland has suddenly been put under the spotlight by a report in the German magazine Der Spiegel.

The magazine cites what it describes as an interim internal report from the European Commission's Cartel Office, which expresses grave misgivings about the takeover. Officials are said to be on the brink of rejecting the acquisition on the grounds that it would be incompatible with European Union rules concerning competition.

The Commission investigation of the takeover started in October after Roche announced at the end of May that it intended to acquire BM for $11 billion, thus creating the world's largest diagnostics equipment provider. The Commission's interim report, however, is understood to be arguing that the deal would create a dominant market position in several EU member states.