Valentin Chapero, CEO of Sonova Holding AG, formerly Phonak AG, said this week Sonova may abandon its quest to acquire GN Resound if the German trade office on Aug. 8 confirms its veto of the merger. The German decision would prevent the combined companies from doing business in Germany, would make it impossible to go forward with the acquisition, Chapero indicated following a preliminary ruling this week. Sonova changed its name Aug. 1 in anticipation of the merger, which would have added the GN ReSound brand alongside Phonak in making the holding company one of the world’s top three hearing-aid manufacturers. Stay tuned.