Financial Times' German desk had this first, overnight, and it is now being echoed here in the states by Bloomberg:
. . . .Novartis AG, Bayer AG and Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH are among drugmakers vying for the animal-health assets being sold by Sanofi-Aventis SA and Merck & Co., Financial Times Deutschland reported, without saying where it got the information.
Deutsche Bank AG is advising Bayer and Bank of America Merrill Lynch is advising Novartis, according to people familiar with the bidding process, the newspaper said. Boston Consulting Group is advising Boehringer, and Eli Lilly & Co., another bidder, hired JP Morgan, the paper said.
Sanofi and Merck are selling assets valued at about $1 billion after agreeing to combine their veterinary-medicine businesses this year. . . .
We'll keep you informed.
