Altana to Sell Drug Unit

A few hours after one German drug and chemical conglomerate said it was buying a pharmaceutical company, another German conglomerate said it was selling its drug business so it could concentrate on chemicals.

Altana AG(AAA Quote) said Thursday it would sell its pharmaceuticals division for $5.75 billion to the privately held Danish drugmaker Nycomed. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, pending a review by European and U.S. regulators and a vote by Altana's shareholders.

Altana's decision follows the announcement by Germany's Merck KGaA that it would pay $13.3 billion for control of the Swiss biotechnology company Serono(SRA Quote). The German company is unrelated to the U.S. drugmaker Merck(MRK Quote). ...