BRUSSELS (Reuters) - French drugmaker Sanofi (PA:SASY) secured EU antitrust approval on Thursday for its proposed buy of German peer Boehringer Ingelheim's consumer health business after agreeing to divest businesses from both companies in nine EU countries.
Sanofi's bid for Boehringer's consumer health unit with an enterprise value of 6.7 billion euros ($7.5 billion) is part of a $20-billion asset swap, with the German company taking over its animal health arm.
The European Commission said the pledge to sell units in the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Hungary, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia addressed its concerns about higher prices for medicines.
The animal health deal has not been approved yet.