Irish companies were involved in mergers and acquisitions worth almost €4bn in the first quarter of 2005, almost double the value of transactions in the same period in 2004, according to the latest M&A Tracker survey from Irish corporate finance firm Ion Equity.

North drug-maker Warner Chilcott, the former Galen Holdings, will delist from the Dublin and London stock exchanges on January 6, it said yesterday.

A DRAWN-OUT battle for control of Warner Chilcott looked less likely yesterday as one of the three bidders for the Northern drug firm dropped out of the race to join forces with the frontrunner.

THE American private equity group that plans to buy Northern drug company Warner Chilcott for close to €2.3 billion has opened the door to rival bidders to be part of the takeover.