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Markus Talanow +49 6151 72-7144 Investor Relations +49 6151 72-3321 | |
November 10, 2015
- European Commission approves sale of divestment business to Honeywell
- Completion of $17 billion Sigma-Aldrich transaction scheduled to take place on November 18
- Transaction to give Merck leading position in life science industry with expanded portfolio, capabilities and geographic reach
Darmstadt, Germany, November 10, 2015 - Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced that following the final approval of the European Commission it is set to complete its $17 billion (€13.1 billion) acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich.
The European Commission had granted conditional approval to the acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich on June 15, 2015, subject to the divestment of certain Sigma- Aldrich assets. On October 20, 2015, Merck announced an agreement to sell parts of Sigma-Aldrich's solvents and inorganics business to Honeywell. Now that the European Commission has approved that transaction, all necessary closing requirements have been fulfilled for Merck to complete the acquisition of Sigma- Aldrich. The formal completion date is scheduled for November 18, with the delisting of Sigma-Aldrich's stock from NASDAQ taking effect following completion.
'We've reached the home stretch and are set to complete the largest acquisition in our almost 350-year history,' said Karl-Ludwig Kley, CEO and Chairman of Merck. 'With this acquisition Merck will become a leading player in the $130 billion life science industry with almost 20,000 people, 300,000 products and thousands of
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patents coming together to help our customers tackle the toughest problems in life science with innovative solutions.'
Merck and Sigma-Aldrich announced on September 22, 2014 that they had entered into a definitive agreement under which Merck would acquire all outstanding shares of Sigma-Aldrich for $140 per share in cash. Today's final approval of the European Commission follows the approval of the acquisition by Sigma-Aldrich's shareholders at a special meeting held on December 5, 2014 and the satisfaction of other customary conditions, including antitrust clearance in the United States, China, Japan and several other countries.
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Merck is a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life science and performance materials. Around 40,000 employees work to further develop technologies that improve and enhance life - from biopharmaceutical therapies to treat cancer or multiple sclerosis, cutting-edge systems for scientific research and production, to liquid crystals for smartphones and LCD televisions. In 2014, Merck generated sales of € 11.3 billion in 66 countries.
Founded in 1668, Merck is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed corporate group. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the company operates as EMD Serono, EMD Millipore and EMD Performance Materials.
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