Merial to transfer ownership from Sanofi to Boehringer Ingelheim

Merial's parent company Sanofi has announced that it will be transferring the business to Boehringer Ingelheim after the firms agreed an asset swap deal.

The companies have signed contracts to secure a strategic transaction initiated in December 2015, which will see Sanofi swap the Merial animal health business for Boehringer Ingelheim's consumer healthcare unit.

It is expected to be finalised before the end of the year, with the integration of the swapped assets by their new owners to commence before closing.

The Merial/Boehringer Ingelheim deal will bring together complementary portfolios and technology platforms in anti-parasitics, vaccines and pharmaceutical specialties, making it one of the world's leading animal health companies.

This would more than double the sales of the business to approximately 3.8 billion euros (3.17 billion pounds), based on 2015 global sales trends.

Professor Dr Andreas Barner, chairman of the board of Boehringer Ingelheim, said: "As a research-based pharmaceutical company, we will substantially enhance our position in the future market for animal health and will prospectively be one of the largest global players in this segment."