Hints and tips:
...This makes the industry fertile ground for the likes of Organon, freshly spun-off from pharma giant Merck and due to start trading next month....
...Schering has made efforts to reduce its dependence on cholesterol drugs, particularly with its $14bn acquisition of Organon BioSciences....
...“Akzo Nobel believes that ICI would represent a highly attractive addition to its focused coatings and chemicals business following the announced sale of Organon BioSciences N.V. earlier this year....
...Admittedly, Serono had little in the way of a pipeline, while Organon has five products in late stage development....
...Schering-Plough will acquire Organon for approximately €11bn in cash ($14.4bn based on closing exchange rate on March 9, 2007)....
...Akzo Nobel said it had rejected private equity advances for Organon Biosciences, its drugs division, and reaffirmed plans to float a minority of the unit....
...Schering-Plough had been stalking the Organon unit for as long as two years, and Organon’s experimental drug to treat precisely that condition has had a recent shift in its fortunes....
...Analysts had speculated that the cash generated by the sale or flotation of Organon could provide a war-chest for Akzo to buy ICI, the UK paint company....
...The swing factor is Organon itself....
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