Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
Sanofi bought out Merck's Merial stake for $4B in 2009, grew it into a full animal-health unit worth an implied ~€11.4B by 2016, then swapped the entire business away to Boehringer Ingelheim for BI's Consumer Healthcare unit plus €4.7B cash — a financially strong exit but a full strategic reversal, since Sanofi no longer owns any of the asset it bought.
Full analysis, sources & comparables →Merck CEO Richard Clark: 'These agreements should enable us to proceed expeditiously with the closing of our merger with Schering-Plough in the fourth quarter…
Merck will sell its 50 percent interest in the companies' current animal health joint venture, Merial Limited (Merial), to sanofi-aventis for $4 billion (US)…
C&EN reported the abandonment of the Merial-Intervet recombination, framing the 2009 Sanofi buyout as still strategically sound for Sanofi's diversification…
Source summaries from our enrichment pipeline; follow links for originals.
All 6 sources with sentiment breakdown →
$4B cash for Merck's 50% stake in animal health JV. Animal health (note: borderline pharma but veterinary therapeutics). Source: Pharma Times, Modern Healthcare, AVMA.
Sanofi bought out Merck's Merial stake for $4B in 2009, grew it into a full animal-health unit worth an implied ~€11.4B by 2016, then swapped the entire business away to Boehringer Ingelheim for BI's Consumer Healthcare unit plus €4.7B cash — a financially strong exit but a full strategic reversal, since Sanofi no longer owns any of the asset it bought.
Assessment window: 15yr post-close.
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanofi-Aventis / Merial Limited (Merck's 50% interest) (this deal) | 2009 | $4.0B | 65 |
| Sanofi-Aventis / Symbion Consumer (Primary Health Care) | 2008 | $544M | 71 |
| Sanofi-Aventis / Acambis plc | 2008 | $548M | 36 |
| Sanofi-Aventis / Shantha Biotechnics Limited | 2009 | $784M | 34 |
| Sanofi-Aventis / Fovea Pharmaceuticals SA | 2009 | $541M | 23 |
| Sanofi-Aventis / BiPar Sciences, Inc. | 2009 | $500M | 8 |
| Sanofi-Aventis / ImmunoGen Inc. | 2005 | $18M | — |
← Browse all deals · How we score deals
More: 2009 deals · Sanofi-Aventis deals