Schering AG shares soar on Roche takeover talk

Shares in the German pharmaceutical group Schering AG rose as much as7% during trading on January 11, amid rumors that it may be a takeover target for Roche of Switzerland. Schering's share price closed at 56.95 euros ($54.01), an increase of 6.4%.

Both Roche and Schering declined to comment on the speculation but some observers believe that the latter is ripe for a takeover. This is the view of Michael Butscher, an analyst at Merck, Finck & Co in Munich, who told Reuters that there is no big shareholder behind the group "and the share price came down strongly over the last week so the timing would be excellent."

However, others argue that the stock rise was a result of a positive recommendation for Schering from Deutsche Bank.