Bayer Beats Merck on Talc Liabilities After $14 Billion Deal (2)

Merck & Co. remains on the hook for asbestos-related liabilities involving talc product lines it sold to Bayer AG as part of a $14.2 billion deal, a Delaware judge ruled Monday.

Vice Chancellor Nathan A. Cook dismissed Merck’s efforts to stick Bayer with legal claims stemming from product sales before the 2014 transaction, which transferred the Claritin, Coppertone, and Dr. Scholl’s brands. The judge rejected the idea that sunset provisions found in a separate section of the purchase agreement also applied to asbestos-related liabilities explicitly retained by Merck.

A spokesperson for Bayer praised the ruling Monday in a statement provided ...