Merck KGaA confirms possible sale of generics unit

Germany's Merck KGaA has confirmed yesterday's rumor that it is considering the sale of its generics drug business. A sale would net billions of dollars for the drug company, which also announced that it had completed the acquisition of Switzerland's Serono and is focusing on new drug development. Israel's Teva, Sanofi-Aventis and Novartis have been named as potential suitors. The global generics business has seen a wave of buyouts over the past year as the industry consolidates around a short list of key players.

- see this release for more
- here's the AFX report on the confirmation
- here's the report from Globes on possible suitors
- more on suitors from this AFX report

ALSO: A Dutch newspaper claims that Akzo Nobel is in talks to sell its Organon drug subsidiary. Report