The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday that German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim has agreed to divest five types of animal health products in the United States in order to settle FTC charges that its proposed asset swap with Paris-based Sanofi would likely be anticompetitive.
German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim won EU antitrust approval on Wednesday to acquire French peer Sanofi's (SASY.PA) Merial animal health business after agreeing to sell some of Merial's vaccines and pharmaceuticals to allay competition concerns.
Sanofi ($SNY) is planning $1.6 billion in cuts and considering selling its animal health and European generics businesses as it seeks to improve its fortunes. But with lackluster diabetes sales dragging on profits in the coming years, the company said not to expect any meaningful growth through 2017, leading investors to give the turnaround strategy a frosty reception.