Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim agreed to a $25 billion dollar trade of big business units this week, the conclusion of a deal that first surfaced in December. Asset swaps, while complicated, could be an increasingly popular maneuver among pharmaceutical companies, Bloomberg M&A reporter Ed Hammond tells host and colleague Alex Sherman. That's partially because the biggest takeovers in the industry can't seem to get done. Hammond explains why they've failed and what pharma deals might actually get done in the second half of 2016.

<p>Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim agreed to a $25 billion dollar trade of big business units this week, the conclusion of a deal that first surfaced in December. Asset swaps, while complicated, could be an increasingly popular maneuver among pharmaceutical companies, Bloomberg M&amp;A reporter Ed Hammond tells host and colleague Alex Sherman. That's partially because the biggest takeovers in the industry can't seem to get done. Hammond explains why they've failed and what pharma deals might actually get done in the second half of 2016.</p>

Bloomberg M&A reporters, joined by outside experts and members of Bloomberg's Deals team, examines the week's biggest deals and highlights M&A trends most under scrutiny by Wall Street. He'll talk to reporters who broke Bloomberg's major scoops and interview investors, executives, lawyers and bankers for an inside peek into what's going on inside corporate boardrooms and what it's like working with the world's largest companies and richest people.

Bloomberg M&A reporter Alex Sherman examines the week's biggest deals and highlights M&A trends most under scrutiny by Wall Street.

Deal of the Week

32: Why Pharmaceutical Companies Face an Existential M&A Crisis

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/86fdea12-208d-490a-94ba-ae390054f115/transcript