Merck acquires US life sciences company

Germany-based pharmaceutical company, Merck, has announced the completion of its acquisition of US life sciences company, Millipore for a purchase price, including debt and cash, of around $7bn. The companies had agreed the deal in February 2010.

The acquisition's closure follows approval from Millipore's shareholders for the deal which will see the launch of a new division of Merck Chemicals to be called Merck Millipore. Head of Merck Chemicals, Dr Bernd Reckmann, will also assume leadership of Merck Millipore while remaining in his present role.

"The increased breadth of the Merck Millipore product portfolio, together with the expertise of our talented people, will allow us to deepen our customer relationships and gain the new insights we need to further drive innovation," said Dr Reckmann.

"We will also bring together our research and development capabilities, which will make Merck Millipore one of the top three investors in R&D in the Life Science Tools industry. This, in turn, will enable us to create greater value for our customers."

Merck Millipore will be based in Massachusetts, US, with supporting locations throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

The new division will consist of 10,000 employees in 64 countries, with three business units focusing on bioscience, lab solutions and process solutions.

A range of products, technologies and services for pharma and biotechnology companies to improve productivity in both R&D and manufacturing will be provided by Merck Millipore.

Millipore CEO, Martin Madaus, will not join Merck Millipore but will act as an advisor during the integration process. The majority of this process is expected to be completed by the end of 2010, according to Merck.