Dutch-Swedish pharmaceutical group Akzo Nobel said it had agreed to sell its Organon BioSciences drugs unit to US rival Schering-Plough for €11 billion.
The cash offer by Schering-Plough was significantly higher than analysts had expected.
Akzo Nobel had previously planned to list Organon on the Amsterdam stock exchange through an initial public offering and had reiterated this intention last Friday.
The stock market flotation was expected to raise up to €7.5 billion.
After the sale of Organon BioSciences, Akzo Nobel will concentrate on its chemicals and coatings division.
'Akzo Nobel aims to grow in the most attractive areas of its coatings and chemicals portfolios through investments and acquisitions,' the company said.
