Merck KGaA Completes Millipore Acquisition and Launches New Merck Millipore Division

Merck KGaA today announced the successful completion of its acquisition of Millipore Corporation, a leading Life Science company based in Billerica, Massachusetts, USA, for an aggregate purchase price including debt and cash of approximately EUR 5.2 billion (US$ 7.0 billion). Merck agreed to acquire Millipore on February 28, 2010 for US$107 in cash per share of Millipore common stock. The closing follows the approval of the acquisition by Millipore's shareholders at a special meeting held on June 3, 2010 and the satisfaction of other customary conditions, including antitrust clearance in the United States and Europe. Merck will now begin the process of de-listing the shares of Millipore from the New York Stock Exchange and removing the shares from registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

"With today's launch of Merck Millipore, we are creating a world-class partner for the Life Science sector with a comprehensive product offering and enhanced global scale and innovative power," said Dr. Karl-Ludwig Kley, Chairman of the Merck Executive Board. "We will now move quickly to bring together the expertise and complementary capabilities of both Merck and Millipore employees to capture the significant opportunities in the high-growth, high-margin market segments such as bio-research and bio-production."

Dr. Bernd Reckmann, Head of the Merck Millipore division and Member of the Executive Board of Merck, said, "Both Merck Chemicals and Millipore have a long and proud history of providing superior products and solutions to their partners in the Life Science sector. 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. 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."

With 10,000 employees in 64 countries, Merck Millipore (EMD Millipore in the U.S. and Canada) had pro forma revenues of EUR 2.1 billion (US$2.9 billion) for fiscal year 2009. It will be headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts/USA, and supported by locations throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The new division will offer a comprehensive range of products, technologies and services for pharma and biotech companies, as well as for academia, to improve laboratory productivity and develop and optimize manufacturing processes. Merck Millipore will have enhanced global manufacturing and distribution capabilities, which will allow it to compete more effectively in the marketplace. Additionally, a larger sales organization will lead to greater customer service and broader global sales coverage, opening up new growth opportunities.

Merck Millipore will consist of three business units - Bioscience, Lab Solutions and Process Solutions - and each unit will itself comprise a number of key focus areas, known as business fields.

Source: Merck KGaA