Bayer Schering Pharma AG Launches as New Company

Berlin and Leverkusen, Germany (Dec. 29)-Bayer Schering Pharma AG officially was launched as a new company following the acquisition of Schering AG (Berlin, Germany) by the Bayer Group (Leverkusen, Germany, www.bayer.com).

The name of the new company, Bayer Schering Pharma AG, was officially recorded as an entry in the commercial register on December 29, 2006, thus completing another important condition for combining Bayer’s and Schering’s pharmaceutical businesses. The combined pharmaceutical businesses of Bayer and Schering had 2005 proforma sales of more than EUR 9 billion ($11.7 billion).

Bayer Schering Pharma AG, headquartered in Berlin, is to be managed together with Bayer’s current pharmaceutical business as a division of the Bayer HealthCare subgroup. The resolution necessary for a squeeze-out is expected to be passed at an extraordinary stockholders’ meeting of Bayer Schering Pharma AG to be held in Berlin on January 17. Employing the legally defined squeeze-out procedure, it is intended that the shares owned by minority stockholders be transferred to the main stockholder, Bayer Schering GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bayer AG, in return for adequate cash compensation.

“We are pleased that Schering now belongs to the Bayer Group in name as well, and that this is visible to the world,” said Bayer AG Management Board Chairman Werner Wenning, in a company release. “We are continuing to make good headway with the integration process. The appointment of highly qualified people to important positions, particularly in research and development, is largely complete, and we were able to fill these positions equitably with employees from both companies. Now we are focusing on the next steps, particularly the squeeze-out process and realizing the planned synergies.”