Exclusive: Germany's Bayer seeks animal health merger with Elanco - sources

) to discuss a possible combination of their pet-health businesses to create an industry giant, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Bayer has delayed the launch of an auction to private equity funds to clinch a bilateral deal with Elanco, the fourth-largest player in the animal health industry globally, the sources said. Bayer ranks fifth in veterinary medicine. Aside from Elanco, its bigger rivals are former Pfizer unit Zoetis, unlisted Boehringer Ingelheim, which bought animal health assets from Sanofi, and drugmaker Merck & Co.

An auction process was initially expected to start in June but Bayer would only dispatch information packages to prospective bidders towards the end of the summer, they said. Elanco, which also declined to comment on any deal, offers more than 125 products to veterinarians and food animal producers in more than 90 countries.

As of December, it had about $2.5 billion of overall senior debt. In its annual report, it warned investors about the risk of failing to generate sufficient cash to service all its debts.

Hard to reconcile Bayer/Monsanto's disregard for animal health with this new project eh?

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