Merck and Schering-Plough merger gets more competition authority backing

Merck & Co's $41.1 billion acquisition of fellow US drug major Schering-Plough moved a significant step closer with clearance from the US Federal Trade Commission, the Swiss Competition Commission and the Canadian Competition Bureau on October 29. All that is now left is approval from the relevant authorities in China and Mexico, the companies note, saying they still expect completion of the transaction by year-end.

The companies said that the FTC terminated the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, and cleared the pending merger. The companies also stated that the Canadian Competition Bureau terminated the waiting period under the Canadian Competition Act and cleared the proposed transaction.

The deal would create the world's second-largest producer of prescription medicines, with about $42 billion in annual sales. That would place it behind only Pfizer, which this month completed its $68 billion purchase of Wyeth.