Merck buys Sigma-Aldrich for £10bn
22 Sep 2014
Pharma and chemicals giant Merck has agreed to buy life sciences firm Sigma-Aldrich for approximately $17 billion (£10.2bn).
The deal, announced today, will significantly expand Merck’s life sciences arm.
It will also see Sigma-Aldrich complement Merck Millipore’s existing products and capabilities in pharma and biopharma production, with ”additions along the entire value chain of drug production and validation”, according to a company statement.
Karl-Ludwig Kley, chairman of Merck’s executive board, said: “In one of the world’s key industries two companies that fit perfectly together have found each other to present a much broader product offering to our global customers in research, pharma and biopharma manufacturing and diagnostic and testing labs.
“As such, the combination of Merck and Sigma-Aldrich will secure stable growth and profitability in an industry that is driven by trends such as the globalisation of research and manufacturing.”
The deal, which values Sigma-Aldrich at $140 per share in cash, represents a 37% premium to the latest closing price of $102.37 per share last Friday.
For further details of the merger, visit our sister site Laboratorytalk.com.
