Brussels, 12/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has cleared the acquisition, for the sum of $1.24 billion, of the company Block Drug by the British company SmithKline Beecham. Block Drug operates under the name of Stafford-Miller in several countries outside the United States. SmithKline Beecham (turnover $12.55 billion in 1999) is a multinational operating in the research, development and marketing of pharmaceutical products, vaccines, over-the-counter medicines and oral care products. With a turnover of $864.3 million for the financial year ending March 2000, it is mainly active in this last sector (mainly toothpaste for "sensitive" teeth). The Commission inquiry showed that the operation will lead to overlaps in the oral care field of toothbrushes, mouthwash and toothpaste, on one hand, and in mouth infection treatments as well as in pharmaceutical products markets (acid control/heartburn treatment, anti-allergy and anti-inflammatories), on the other.
The Commission nonetheless came to the conclusion that there will in fact not be competitive problems because of the number and importance of competitors present on the oral care and treatment markets.