Merck, the US-listed pharmaceuticals company, has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, to spin off a subsidiary it failed to float.

Merck is spinning off 100% of its subsidiary, Medco Health Solutions, to shareholders after abortive attempts to publicly offer the unit. Merck filed the initial public offering of Medco in April last year, aiming to sell a 20% stake and raise up to $1bn (€853m) in a deal led by Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.