With the six months he has left in the top job, can he stave off the breakup long enough for the deed to be done by his likely successor, WernerWenning, now the chief financial officer?
Then in mid-November, WernerWenning, the CEO, said that the company would accept a minority role in any future marriage of its pharmaceutical business, increasing the chances that someone will make a serious offer for the inventor of aspirin and for its extensive European sales network.