Yesterday's announcement of Abbott Laboratories' ($ABT) split into two companies has prompted speculation over whether the prescription-medicine spin-off could become a takeover target. Some analysts are saying that the company could fetch as much as $54 billion. Jeffrey Holford, a Jefferies Group analyst, names Merck ($MRK), Roche and Bayer as potential interested parties. News
Editor's Note: The headline for this story was updated and corrected to change the potential sum of a buyout of Abbott's prescription medicine business from $54 million to $54 billion.