Monday, September 21, 2009

Merck Finally Announces an ECC Filing on the "Main Deal". . . .


After I yet-again inquired here about it, over the weekend, Whitehouse Station is -- as of about 19 minutes ago -- indicating it is filing with the EU antitrust authorities for approval of the overall Schering-Plough bust-up, styled as a reverse merger transaction, per the AP:

. . . .Drugmaker Merck & Co. is filing papers with regulators in the European Union seeking approval to buy Schering-Plough Corporation.

"We are formally seeking approval for the merger in the EU now that we have divested our interest in Merial," Merck spokeswoman Amy Rose says. . . .

Merck expects the European Union to issue a ruling on the Schering-Plough acquisition by Octocber 23, 2009. . . .

Of course, that "expectation" turns on whether the ECC agrees that no issues are presented by the main deal. Remember also that the US authorities haven't cleared the main deal, nor have Japanese regulators.

Still unresolved, as well, is whether the ECC will allow the Intervet call option in favor of Sanofi-Aventis to go forward, post the close of the main deal.

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