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July 12, 2006
Bayer completes acquisition of Schering AG
by Marie-Eve Laforte

Bayer reported Wednesday that it completed its 16.9 billion-euro ($21.5 billion) public takeover offer for Schering AG, and now controls 92.4 percent of outstanding Schering shares. "We are still aiming to acquire the entire stock of Schering, but we are not in a hurry," stated Bayer's management board chairman, Werner Wenning.

Bayer's ownership of Schering falls short of a 95-percent threshold that would have allowed the company to force remaining shareholders to tender their stake in the company. Nonetheless, Equinet analyst Martin Possienke remarked that while "this makes the technical part of the acquisition longer and more difficult" he also added that "the integration can clearly begin," as reported in The Washington Post.

As the next step in the integration process, Bayer noted that an extraordinary meeting of Schering's shareholders will be held in September, at which a "domination and profit transfer agreement" between the two companies will be put forward for approval. Additionally, Bayer indicated that Schering's business will now be integrated into Bayer's financial reporting, and therefore the release of second-quarter results will be delayed until August 29, while the third-quarter statement will be deferred until November 27.

Reference Articles

Bayer controls 92.4 percent of outstanding Schering shares - (Bayer)

Bayer completes 17 billion euro takeover of Schering - (Bloomberg)

Bayer now controls 92.4 pct of Schering - (Forbes)

Bayer completes acquisition of Schering - (MSN Money)

Bayer mop-up bid for Schering shareholders - (MSNBC)

Bayer falls short of key 95 pct holding in Schering - (The Washington Post)