February 26, 2011
FRANKFURT (AFP) - The German chemical and pharmaceutical group Bayer will take a depreciation charge of 400 million euros ($550 million) as it abandons its Schering brand, a press report said Friday.
Bayer said last year that it would drop the brand known for a line of ontraceptives, and the Bayer Schering Pharma division will now be called simply Bayer Pharma, the Financial Times Deutschland newspaper said.
It put the cost of the move at 400 million euros, citing well informed sources after Bayer management floated the number internally a few weeks ago.
Bayer is to present annual results on Monday.
