European Commission OKs Elanco’s acquisition of Bayer unit

The European Commission (EC) has granted approval of Elanco Animal Health Inc.’s pending acquisition of Bayer’s animal health business.

Elanco-antibiotics
Courtesy Elanco

Transaction on track to be completed in August

The European Commission (EC) has granted approval of Elanco Animal Health Inc.’s pending acquisition of Bayer’s animal health business.

“Approval from the European Commission is an important milestone toward the completion of our acquisition of Bayer Animal Health,” said Jeff Simmons, president and CEO of Elanco, in a press release. “As the transaction edges closer to fruition, we look forward to turning our full attention to delivering innovation and an expanded portfolio of solutions for farmers, veterinarians and pet owners across the globe.”

Elanco said the transaction is on track to close as anticipated on August 3, pending regulatory approvals. Elanco announced its plans to acquire Bayer’s animal health unit on August 20, 2019, in a deal valued at US$7.6 billion.

Elanco previously announced divestiture agreements of $120 million to $140 million of revenue to advance the needed regulatory reviews. The EC’s approval is conditional on several of these proposed divestitures, including:

  • Divestiture of the worldwide rights for Osurnia, a treatment for otitis externa in dogs, being sold to Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC
  • Divestiture of the worldwide rights for Vecoxan, used for prevention and treatment of coccidiosis in calves and lambs being sold to Merck Animal Health (also known as MSD Animal Health).
  • Divestiture of European Economic Area and U.K. rights to the Drontal and Profender product families and related pipeline assets from Bayer Animal Health being sold to Vetoquinol SA, a French pharmaceutical company. These products are broad-spectrum de-wormers for dogs and cats.

In addition to EC approval, Elanco has received antitrust clearance for the transaction in China, Colombia, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, Vietnam, and provisional clearance in Brazil.

In early May, Elanco reported a 10% decrease in total revenue during the first quarter of 2020, compared with its 2019 first quarter performance ($657.7 million vs. $731.1 million), driven largely by the global impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

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