Bayer buys Merck's consumer care arm for 14.2bn dollars

6th May 2014 16:46

German drug group Bayer has won the race to buy rival Merck's consumer care business for 14.2bn dollars, edging out the UK's Reckitt Benckiser.The deal announced on Tuesday is thought likely to make Bayer, which invented aspirin and makes Canesten anti-fungal creams, the second biggest over-the-counter drug maker after Johnson & Johnson.Merck makes brands including Dr Scholl foot care, Coppertone sunscreen and Claritin allergy medicine.Reckitt, which pulled out of the race to buy the business last month, is thought to have decided that the tie-up did not meet its financial conditions.Reckitt's Chief Executive Rakesh Kapoor said: "We are a highly disciplined acquirer with strict return metrics, which we will not break."The consumer health market remains highly fragmented and we will continue to evaluate opportunities that fit both our strategic and financial criteria."Bayer is also believed to have edged out other bidders, including Procter & Gamble Co, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis and Sanofi.The deal is the latest development in a wave of merger and acquisition activity in the health industry.Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline last month agreed to trade more than $20bn of assets and AstraZeneca on Tuesday launched a defence against a $106bn takeover approach from Pfizer.Shares in Reckitt, which makes brands such as Nurofen, Dettol disinfectant and Cillit Bang cleaning products, closed 5p down at 4,835p in London.PW