Shareholders of Rhone-Poulenc of France and Germany's Hoechst meet this week to decide whether the two companies should merge to become the world leader in the pharmaceutical industry.

The vital assemblies, in Paris tomorrow and in Frankfurt on Thursday, are expected to give the green light to the marriage announced last December.

The new company, to be named Aventis, will have a combined turnover of $20 billion (£15.5 billion), a workforce of 95,000 and a research budget of $2.5 billion a year.

The merger will be a triumph for Rhone-Poulenc boss JeanRene Fortou and his counterpart Juenger Dorman, who will have overcome the confusion caused by a premature launch and the.