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News Release Gangolf Schrimpf +49 6151 72-9591 June 29, 2015 Merck To Fully Acquire Israeli Quantum Materials Company Qlight Nanotech Merck continues to expand leadership in display materials by investing in quantum materials
Qlight Nanotech's Jerusalem site will remain the quantum materials
research hub for Merck Continuation of a long term relationship with scientific institutions and start-up companies in Israel
Darmstadt, Germany, and Tel Aviv, Israel, June 29, 2015 - Merck, a leading company for innovative and top-quality high-tech products in healthcare, life science and performance materials, today announced that it is acquiring the remaining stake in Qlight Nanotech Ltd., Jerusalem, Israel, and will hold 100% of the company. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
"The acquisition of Qlight Nanotech perfectly fits into our innovation strategy. We have set the basic platforms for growth in our three business sectors to grow organically and driven by innovation. Innovations are our lifeblood," said Karl-Ludwig Kley, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of Merck.
By exploiting new technologies Merck aims to strengthen its leadership in liquid crystal display materials and growing presence in OLED materials. Qlight Nanotech's novel nanocrystals help to improve color impression and energy efficiency of modern displays.
The acquisition was announced during today's Israel-Germany Innovation Day in Tel
Aviv, which was hosted and visited by Israel Minister of Economy, Arie Deri, and the
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News Release
German Ministry of Economy. Kley continued. "Like the companies here in Israel we at Merck never stand still but are always researching, asking, finding, tinkering, and developing. And because we invest in new materials and technologies like the one in Qlight Nanotech we are continuously able to develop exciting new display products that meet the needs of our customers around the world."
Qlight Nanotech was founded in 2009 and since the beginning worked closely with Merck in a joint research program supported by the Israeli Office of the Chief Scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Economy as part of its Multinational Company Cooperation Program. Merck has invested into Qlight Nanotech in two steps in 2012 and 2013 already before. Qlight Nanotech will remain the quantum materials research hub for the Performance Materials business sector of Merck.
The company presented its innovative nanocrystals display technology and the application potential for the flat panel display industry at the SID (Society for Information Display) Display Week in San Jose, California, U.S.A., earlier in June 2015.
Professor Uri Banin, the scientific founder of Qlight Nanotech, added, "I am excited about this important step for the future of the company. There are clear synergies for Qlight's quantum materials with Merck's dominant position in the display market. This is a landmark opportunity for Qlight Nanotech - solidifying its activity in Jerusalem, while benefitting from close interaction with our research group, and the Hebrew University Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. The research at the Hebrew university will also greatly benefit from such close interactions and ties with Merck".
Qlight Nanotech is a spin-off of Yissum, the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. "The combination of breakthrough innovation from the lab of Prof. Banin with Merck, a global leader in liquid crystal technologies, created this success of Qlight that was the first start up acting inside the Safra Campus in Jerusalem employing directly around 20 employees," said Yaacov Michlin, CEO of Yissum and
Chairman of the Board of Qlight Nanotech. "This serves as great example for the goal of
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News ReleaseYissum to convert academic innovation into products and career opportunities in Jerusalem and Israel. This acquisition is an important step in the excellent collaboration between Merck and Qlight that will lead to products in the flat panel displays market," Michlin elaborated further.
About Qlight NanotechQlight Nanotech Ltd. was founded in 2009 and is developing materials and applications based on semiconductor nanocrystals. Qlight Nanotech's leading technological team has significant expertise and innovation in nanoscience and nanotechnology, aimed at applications in general lighting, display panels, and more. The company, led by CEO Shlomo Amir, is based on technology developed by Professor Uri Banin, the scientific founder of Qlight Nanotech. Professor Banin from the Institute of Chemistry and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at the Hebrew University, specializes in chemistry and physics of nanomaterials and is a leading scientist worldwide in the field of nanotechnology. Additional information about the company can be found on www.qlightnano.com.
More information on Merck's activities in Israel are to be found here.
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Merck is a leading company for innovative, top-quality high-tech products in healthcare, life science and performance materials. The company has six businesses - Merck Serono, Consumer Health, Allergopharma, Biosimilars, Merck Millipore and Performance Materials - and generated sales of around
€ 11.3 billion in 2014. Around 39,000 employees work for Merck in 66 countries to improve the quality of life for patients, to further the success of customers, and to help meet global challenges. Merck is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company - since 1668, the company has stood for innovation, business
success and responsible entrepreneurship. Holding an approximately 70% interest, the founding family remains the majority owner of the company to this day. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are Canada and the United States, where the company operates as EMD Serono, EMD Millipore and EMD Performance Materials.
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