Schering

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Schering AG was a research-centered pharmaceutical company founded in 1851 that merged with Bayer in December 2006. At that time the company employed more than 26,000 people in 140 subsidiaries all over the world. The company's headquarters are in Berlin-Wedding, Germany. Schering's annual gross revenue was nearly € 5 billion (2003).

Schering AG focused on the business areas of gynaecology, andrology and oncology. Schering best-known product is probably its brands of combined oral contraceptive pills. The company was also involved in special therapeutics, diagnostical devices & nuclear medicine.

The company's founder was Ernst Schering (1824-1889).

The largest German manufacturing facility is located in Bergkamen. Schering used the Berlex Laboratories brand in the USA.

Bayer's Takeover Bid

On March 13, 2006, Merck KGaA announced a €14.6bn bid for Schering [1]. The offer document was due to be issued in early April 2006.

Merck's takeover bid was surpassed by Bayer's $19.5B white-knight bid for Schering on March 23, 2006. In June 2006 Bayer finally bought the majority of shares, over 90%. A domination agreement using the code name "Step One" was used for the take-over. As a result of the take-over by Bayer, Schering AG has been renamed Bayer Schering Pharma AG in December 2006. On February 17 2007 the company publicly announced that 1,000 jobs would be cut through voluntary redundancy from the Berlin operations with effect until March 2008.

Coordinates: 52°32′21″N, 13°22′02″E