Mehta's Sergio Traversa on Monsanto, DuPont: Company Comment
Bloomberg News
March 3, 1999, 1:02 p.m. ET
New York, March 3 (Bloomberg) -- The following is a comment
from Sergio Traversa, an analyst with Mehta Partners, on a report
in today's New York Times that Monsanto Co. is in preliminary
talks to merge with DuPont Co., the biggest U.S. chemicals
company.
''You have all the pieces in place for something that might
happen,'' Traversa said. ''Whether it happens or not, it's a
different story.''
DuPont would benefit from acquiring rights to Monsanto's
Celebrex, a new arthritis drug that has potential to become a
blockbuster, Traversa said.
''DuPont has clearly stated they will make some move in
pharmaceuticals. I'm convinced that DuPont will make some move in
1999.''
Traversa said it's too early to predict how such a
combination would be structured because it takes weeks or months
to negotiate such a large merger.
--Jim Finkle in the San Francisco newsroom (415) 912-2996 /mfr
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