Boehringer Ingelheim To Acquire Wyeth's Animal Health Assets

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Boehringer Ingelheim Gmbh agreed to acquire animal health assets that Wyeth (WYE) is required to sell to win regulatory approval for its $68 billion sale to Pfizer Inc. (PFE).

Financial terms weren't disclosed.

The German company will acquire products, research and manufacturing facilities in Iowa and related assets and intellectual property. The products include cattle and small animal vaccines and some animal pharmaceuticals.

Boehringer Ingelheim also intends to acquire animal health assets in other jurisdictions, including companion animal vaccines in Australia and cattle vaccines in the European Union and South Africa.

Pending antitrust approvals and further sales of overlapping operations, Pfizer expects to close the transaction early in the fourth quarter.

In a similar scenario, Merck & Co. (MRK) also was required to sell some animal health assets to close its pending $41 billion acquisition of Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP). Last week, French drug company Sanofi-Aventis SA (SNY) said it completed the acquisition of Merck's 50% interest in Merial Ltd., an animal health joint venture of the two companies, for $4 billion.

Pfizer's shares were at $16.65, up 1 cent, in after-hours trading, while Wyeth's rose 0.4% to $48.45.

-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2357; [e-mail]