PARIS, Nov 22 (APM) - Integrating Organon and Schering-Plough's French operations will take up to eight months, Brigitte Calles, the U.S. group's head of economic affairs and public relations in France, has told APM.

On Monday, Schering-Plough group announced that the acquisition of Akzo Nobel life sciences business, now part of Organon BioSciences, was complete.

Calles said on Wednesday: "We're going to meet our counterparts and learn to work together." She said integrating animal health businesses will take up to a year.

Willem Kleijn is the new CEO of Schering-Plough France and it is his job to oversee the integration. Formerly a member of Organon top management, Kleijn is a Dutch citizen and speaks fluent French.

He takes over from Gilles Picard who announced in September his intention to step down once the acquisition was completed.

The merged businesses will require a new head office in France. Schering-Plough is based at Levallois Perret in a building scheduled for demolition, while Organon is at Puteaux. Both the companies are in the western suburbs of Paris.

Schering-Plough employs 1,350 people in France and 800 work for Organon in the country.

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[9241] 22/11/2007 14:53 GMT - INDUSTRY