European food majors Danone and Nestlé were previously cited nas the frontrunners to acquire Wyeth, which is valued at around nUS$10bn. However, according to recent reports, Danone and Mead nJohnson have teamed up to bid for Wyeth as they look to improve ntheir fnancial scale and to contend with antitrust regulatory concerns. nWhile Danone's willingness to partner with Mead Johnson means nthat it now has a bigger bargaining position to pit itself against Nestlé, nwe stress that Nestlé has much deeper pockets and is likely to put nup a strong fght for the acquisition of Wyeth (see chart).
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