Merck May Plan Sale of Stake in Animal Venture With Sanofi
Zachary R. Mider and Shannon Pettypiece
Bloomberg
Merck & Co. plans to sell its 50 percent stake in an animal-health joint venture with Sanofi- Aventis SA (Merial) as part of the $41.1 billion acquisition of Schering- Plough Corp., according to people familiar with the situation.
Proceeds from the sale would help bolster Merck’s financial position after spending $9.8 billion of its cash and borrowing $8.5 billion to buy Kenilworth, New Jersey-based Schering-Plough, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
