Sanofi-Aventis will acquire Chattem, Inc. for $1.9 billion, in order to gain a U.S. presence in OTC healthcare. Chattem brands include Gold Bond, Icy Hot, ACT, Cortizone-10, Selsun Blue and Unisom. SA plans to convert its Allegra allergy relief drug from prescription to OTC; the Chattem unit would take over that brand.

“The acquisition of Chattem will be a significant milestone in SA’s transformation strategy and will provide us with the ideal platform in the U.S. consumer healthcare market, which represents 25 percent of the current worldwide opportunity,” said Christopher A. Viehbacher, chief executive officer of SA. “In addition, we believe our ability to convert prescription medicines to OTC products will be enhanced by Chattem’s leading sales, marketing and distribution channels. We have great respect for Chattem’s world-class management team, which has an excellent track record of sales and earnings growth based on building strong brands. With the potential access to switch products such as Allegra, I believe this team will take Chattem to even higher levels.”

Zan Guerry and the senior leadership team of Chattem have agreed to lead SA’s U.S. consumer health division following the close of the transaction.SA has announced that it is committed to Chattem’s current operations and will maintain both of Chattem’s existing manufacturing facilities, continuing construction on a third. The corporate brand of Chattem will also be maintained.

SA’s tender offer is a 34% premium over Chattem’s closing share price on Dec. 18, 2009.