Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Wall St. J. Sez Procter and Gamble Looking at Schering-Plough's Consumer Health Businesses


It seems that P&G CEO McDonald has accepted Merck CEO Clark's implicit (albeit open-ended) invitation of July 2009. A bust-up takes on some additional shape, here. . . .

And so, not immensely surprising, here -- the overnight (online) version of The Wall Street Journal is reporting that P&G, with some 23 brands each generating more than $1 billon per year, is on the prowl -- either to divest underperformers, or load up on brands that will lever up the growth in this behemoth. Consumer health care businesses are specifically mentioned, thus:

. . . .Meanwhile, P&G has looked at the consumer-products portfolio of Schering-Plough, which is merging with Merck & Co., as well as that of Wyeth, which was just acquired by Pfizer Inc. Another possibility: Beauty-products maker Alberto-Culver Co. It's unclear, however, whether those companies would choose to sell. . . .

Except, of course, that Merck CEO Clark signaled he would be willing to sell, or partner -- in his remarks, of a few months ago.

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