Bayer
ORG
Bayer
Bayer, the drug and chemical giant best known as the inventor of aspirin, said it would pay nearly $20 billion in cash for a smaller rival, Schering, topping a $17.9 billion offer by Merck of Germany. Bayer's biggest business now is producing polyurethane, polycarbonates and other manufacturing materials, which accounted for about $13 billion in sales last year. Health care products account for less than 40 percent of its revenue, which was about $30.5 billion last year, but the Schering acquisition could make health care the largest part of Bayer, with projected sales of $18 billion a year.