International. Merck has announced the completion of its $17 billion acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich, creating a new entrant within a $130 billion industry.
The completion of the transaction followed approval by the European Commission, which was the final antitrust condition needed to close the Sigma-Aldrich transaction. Following the acquisition, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, will have around 50,000 employees in 67 countries, working in 72 production plants worldwide.
Full-year combined sales of life sciences amounted to €4.6 billion in 2014. As announced in the release of results for the third quarter of 2015 on November 12, the company expects sales in 2015 to rise between €12.6 billion and €12.8 million.
Merck has made acquisitions and divestments totaling €38 billion over the past decade, turning the former pharmaceutical and chemicals company into a science and technology company with three companies in healthcare, life sciences and performance materials serving as platforms to compete in their markets and drive innovations in these industries.
