Friday, November 20, 2009

Is The Old Schering-Plough Consumer Health Biz On P and G's "Shoppin' List"?


At a Morgan Stanley presentation this morning, per the online WSJ Deals page, P&G looks to be putting together a "Chopin Liszt" (figure it out!):

. . . . Procter & Gamble Co. said it is open to deal making, but the consumer giant emphasized that acquisitions aren't a core part of its strategy to grow and that it doesn't pursue hostile acquisitions. . . .

P&G Chief Financial Officer Jon Moeller said at a Morgan Stanley conference Friday that the company would be most interested in making acquisitions to bolster its household, beauty and consumer health-care portfolios. . . .

Stay-tuned. CEO Clark did repeatedly say it was clear the Consumer Health businesses, pre-merger, would "need a partner".

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you think that Dick Clark is planning to sell the business? It would seem that he would like the diversity of a consumer division. He could partner with someone with an international presence.

On the other hand, he could use the money from a sale to pay down debt or buy a small biotech company.

If he was to sell, what about Reckitt Benckiser as a buyer?

Condor said...

Hmmm -- I dunno, but FT is carrying this tonight -- seems several bankers don't think any Reckitt/Schering-Plough deal is likely:

. . . .However, there was some skepticism around Reckitt acquiring Schering Plough’s OTC, two of the industry bankers said. The third banker said he personally did not believe Schering’s OTC unit was the greatest asset, due to products such as OTC allergy medication Claritin, which has reported declining sales. He did, however, mention that Dr. Scholls foot care products was one of the few strong businesses in the portfolio. . . .

I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Thanks! Do stop back.

Namaste