Bayer’s $7 Billion Bond Offering to Finance Merck Acquisition

Cleary advised the initial purchasers Deutsche Bank Securities, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and 15 additional financial institutions in the Regulation S/Rule 144 A offering of $7 billion fixed and floating rate notes issued by Bayer US Finance LLC, and guaranteed by Bayer AG.

The bond constitutes part of the financing for Bayer’s acquisition of the OTC pharmaceuticals business of Merck & Co. and comprises six tranches with short-, mid- and long-term maturities. The transaction closed on October 8, 2014.

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech polymer materials. In fiscal 2013, the Group employed 113,200 people and had sales of €40.2 billion.