Alinghi boss Ernesto Bertarelli wants to sell his company Serono, the number one in the European biotech sector, to the German pharmaceutical and speciality chemicals group Merck for 10.6 billion euros at the turn of the year.
"We believe that this will enable us to operate much more successfully on the global pharmaceutical market," said Michael Römer, head of the Darmstadt-based family-owned company Merck. The group of companies is expected to generate annual sales of around 7.7 billion euros (based on 2005 figures). One Merck division will be managed from Geneva, where Serono is based.
For Ernesto Bertarelli, who had already been looking intensively for a candidate to take over at the beginning of the year, the current deal means more free time in the long term. He will probably invest this in his Alinghi's defence of the Americas Cup.
