European Commission approves Merck acquisition of Millipore

The European Commission has cleared the acquisition of Millipore, US-based life science group, by German pharmaceutical and chemical company Merck. The $7.2 billion acquisition was announced in March and this approval keeps it on course for completion later this year.

The commission ruled that although the parties are both active in the life science business, they focus on different markets. In a statement they said that while Millipore supplies inputs for the research, development and production of biological drugs created through biological processes, Merck's inputs mainly serve in the research, development and production of products created through chemical processes. It concluded, “the transaction is largely complementary.”

For more information on the companies visit their websites, www.merck.de and www.millipore.com