week it expects to cut 4,000 to 5,000 jobs worldwide as a result of its acquisition of Boehringer Mannheim and DePuy Inc.

Roche, which announced the $11 billion acquisition in May, also said in a statement that the integration of diagnostics and pharmaceuticals company Boehringer into Roche should benefit the company to the tune of about 1.0 billion Swiss francs ($692 million) a year.

The acquisition of Bermuda-based Corange Ltd., the parent of Boehringer and DePuy, is still under review by authorities in the United States and Europe and is expected to be completed in several months, a Roche spokesman said.

Analysts welcomed news about the expected benefits synergies from the acquistion, which are higher than market expectations.

The acquisition of Corange is the largest takeover in Roche's 100-year history, and the market had forecast benefits worth 650 million ($449.8 million) to 800 million francs ($553.6 million).

The combination of Roche and Boehringer will create the world leader in diagnostics with sales of 3.5 billion francs ($2.4 billion) and 13,500 employees.

Corange also owns 84.2 percent of DePuy, one of the world's largest suppliers of artifical limbs and orthopedic products. DePuy will remain a separate unit.

But Roche did not reveal many details about the expected benefits, and analysts said it was unclear when it would achieve the expected savings.

"The vibes are good, but the details are scanty,'' said Genghis Lloyd-Harris of Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB).

The mega-merger of Swiss pharmaceuticals groups Sandoz AG and Ciba-Geigy AG into Novartis AG should create an estimated 2.0 billion francs ($1.4 billion) in annual benefits, but the full effect will first come four years after the merger.