BAYER ACQUIRES SCHERING AG

Bayer has announced that its acquisition of German drugmaker Schering AG has been completed, with it now holding 92.4 percent of the company's 191 million shares.

Bayer paid nearly $21.5 billion for Schering after it staved off a rival offer from Merck KGaA. Merck then snapped up more than 20 percent of Schering's shares before agreeing to sell them to Bayer at $113.35 per share.

"We're still aiming to acquire the entire stock of Schering," Bayer Chief Executive Werner Wenning said. "But we're not in a hurry."