Merck and Sigma-Aldrich have entered into a definitive agreement under which Merck will acquire Sigma-Aldrich for $17.0 billion (€13.1 billion).
The combined company will serve life science customers around the world with an attractive set of established brands and an efficient supply chain that can support the delivery of more than 300,000 products. In the Laboratory & Academia business, the combined company will offer a complementary range of products across laboratory chemicals, biologics, and reagents. In pharma and biopharma production, Sigma-Aldrich will complement Merck Millipore’s existing products and capabilities with additions along the entire value chain of drug production and validation.

Merck plans to maintain a significant presence in St. Louis and Billerica, both USA, following completion of the transaction, as well as in important Merck Millipore sites such as Darmstadt, Germany, and Molsheim, France. The company expects to achieve annual synergies of approximately €260 million ($340 million), which should be fully realized within three years after closing.

^{Image: Merck CEO Karl-Ludwig Kley and Sigma-Aldrich CEO Rakesh Sachdev © Merck KGaA}

• Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany