P&G to buy 51.8% stake in Merck

New Delhi: Procter & Gamble will acquire 51.8% stake for Rs 1,289.88 crore in India-listed drug firm Merck Ltd as part of a global deal under which it is taking over German firm Merck KGaA’s international consumer health business. The global deal is for about 3.4 billion euro (Rs 27,677 crore) in cash. P&G will acquire Merck’s majority shareholding in Merck Ltd. (India) and make a mandatory tender offer to minority shareholders. In a regulatory filing, Merck Ltd said Procter & Gamble Overseas India B.V and The Procter & Gamble Company have launched an up to Rs 647.53-crore open offer to acquire up to 4,315,840 equity shares of Merck Ltd, constituting 26% stake from public shareholders. It further said sale of the equity shares held by the sellers is proposed to be executed at a “price of up to Rs 1,500 per fully paid-up equity share aggregating to up to Rs 1,289,88,36,000 total for all equity shares held by the sellers payable as Euro equivalent in cash”. PTI