Brussels, 15/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - In 11 December, the European Commission approved the proposed acquisition of Pfizer's consumer healthcare business (PCH) by Johnson & Johnson (J&J), subject to conditions.
The Commission found that the proposed transaction as initially notified would have given rise to competition concerns in three product areas: topical dermatological antifungals in Italy, daily-use mouthwash in Greece and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) in the European Economic Area (EEA). J&J, however, offered to divest the overlapping activities in Italy and Greece and, in whole or in part, its global nicotine patch manufacturing business.
The remedies remove all overlaps J&J and PCH for topical dermatological antifungals and daily-use mouthwash and remove the vertical relationship between J&J's nicotine patch manufacturing business and PCH's NRT business. In the light of these commitments, the Commission concluded that the proposed transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the EEA or any substantial part of it. (ol)