By Ulrike Dauer
FRANKFURT--German pharmaceutical and chemicals company Bayer AG
(BAYN.XE) on Wednesday said it plans to sell its equine-health
products to Merial Inc., the animal health unit of Sanofi SA
(SAN.FR).
The operations represent less than 2% of Bayer HealthCare's
Animal Health Division and have no strategic value for the
business, Bayer said.
The transaction, which still awaits regulatory approval, is
expected to close in the first quarter of 2015.
Financial details weren't disclosed, said a Bayer spokesman.
The sale would allow the Bayer unit to focus on innovation and
growth in core segments for both companion and farm animals, said
Dirk Ehle, head of the Bayer HealthCare Animal Health Division.
The sale involves the hyaluronate sodium marketed under the
brands Legend/Hyonate and ponazuril, sold under the Marquis brand.
Hyaluronate sodium is an injectable solution that treats
noninfectious joint dysfunction in horses. Marquis treats equine
protozoal myeloencephalitis, a disease that affects the central
nervous system in horses.
Write to Ulrike Dauer at ulrike.dauer@wsj.com
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