Bayer, Lucite on the block?

Merger and acquisition rumor stories are coming fast and furious lately, with a couple popping up this morning. The big news is from Reuters, which is reporting that Pfizer Inc. is interested in buying Bayer AG. Also, in an unrelated move, some media including our sister newspaper Plastics & Rubber Weekly are reporting that acylic resin and sheet supplier Lucite International Ltd. may be the object of a takeover. Pfizer would be interested in Bayer primarily for the drug side of the business, so if this deal comes to fruition -- certainly that's a very big if, at this point -- expect to see the plastics unit find a home elsewhere. Lucite, created from the 1993 merger of the acrylics businesses of DuPont Co. and ICI plc, holds about a 25 percent share of the global acrylics market, according to the PRW report. Potential bidders here could include Mitsubishi Rayon Co. Ltd., and Saudi International Petrochemical Co., known as Sipchem.