Lehman Brothers, SG Cowen and Italian financial adviser Livolsi & Partners have helped biopharmaceutical companies Versicor and Biosearch Italia agree on a merger which will result in the first ever US-Italian dual listing on the Nuovo Mercato.

Deals between Italian and US companies tend to be structured as acquisitions, said a source close to the deal - the Biosearch/Versicor transaction is the first to be structured as a merger.