The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 271 No 7279 p805
13 December 2003

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AAH and East Anglian call off merger deal

AAH Pharmaceuticals and East Anglian Pharmaceuticals have cancelled their proposed merger (PJ, 18 October, p534). The move follows the referral of the merger to the Competition Commission by the Office of Fair Trading, citing fears of a reduction in competition in East Anglia and parts of the East Midlands and south east England (PJ, 6 December, p769).

AAH said that it wanted “to avoid the uncertainties and delays that dealing with the Competition Commission would create”. Under the proposed deal, East Anglian would have become a subsidiary of AAH and continued to trade under its existing name.

When AAH and East Anglian first announced the merger, they notified the OFT under a procedure which gives it a set time to make a decision on proposed deals. The OFT subsequently asked the companies for further time to consider the case and, following this, referred the merger.