Pharma BD Deal Intelligence

Rhone-Poulenc S.A. / Hoechst AG

1998 · Acquisition/Merger · $21.2B · Complete

CALLED IT — OFF BY 14
Full analysis, sources & comparables →
Top 5 largest deals of the 1990s

Ranks computed across 828 graded deals (Critic + Outcome Score both present).

The coverage arc

Dec 01, 1998 Laboratory Network Neutral

Hoechst and Rhone-Poulenc announced a merger of their pharmaceutical and agricultural businesses to form Aventis, creating the second-largest pharmaceuticals…

Apr 24, 2026 Pharmaceutical Executive Bullish

Executives stated they want to create a new company with European roots and global reach to take full advantage of life sciences opportunities in the…

Source summaries from our enrichment pipeline; follow links for originals.

All 6 sources with sentiment breakdown →

Hoechst AG and Rhone-Poulenc S.A. merged their life sciences businesses to create Aventis, then one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies with combined revenue of approximately $20 billion. The merger was implemented through an exchange offer with Hoechst shareholders receiving Rhone-Poulenc shares at a 4:3 ratio.

Key facts

Related deals — scored

DealYearValueOutcome
Rhone-Poulenc S.A. / Hoechst AG (this deal)1998$21.2B74
Pfizer Inc. / FoldRx Pharmaceuticals201099
Abbott Laboratories / Knoll Pharmaceuticals (BASF Pharma)2000$6.9B95
Astra AB / Zeneca Group plc1998$35.0B94
Merck & Co. Inc. / Acceleron Pharma Inc.2021$11.5B90
Johnson & Johnson / Actelion Ltd2017$30.0B90
Eli Lilly and Company / Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH2011$444M89

Compare all 7 side-by-side →

See the full interactive analysis, sources & comparables →