Unfortunately, the market reaction to his announcement of the acquisition was not kind. As he gazed at the Rhine from his office on the 17th floor, he thought about the analysts' statements. Analyst A had said, "We are rather skeptical about the transaction, as the overlap of the therapeutic areas is rather small and because the cost reductions are predominantly planned in R&D, which should be retained to remain competitive." Analyst B had said, "The proposed deal is primarily targeting scale. Apart from the cost synergies, the fit between the two companies is limited.' And Analyst Chad said, "A choice to maintain their conglomerate structure despite better critical size in health care is negative for the investment case as investors
willing to play the turnaround story in health care will be exposed to risks of downturn in material science.