FRANKFURT, Germany — German drug company Merck says it has agreed to buy St. Louis-based chemical firm Sigma-Aldrich Corp. for $17 billion in a deal Merck says will strengthen its business in chemicals and laboratory equipment.
Darmstadt-based Merck KGaA said Monday it is paying $140 per share in cash for all of Sigma-Aldrich’s shares — a premium of 37 percent over Friday’s closing price of $102.37.
Sigma-Aldrich has more than 9,000 employees in 40 countries and supplies chemicals and laboratory equipment to government and commercial facilities. It said its board of directors has unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close next year, subject to regulators’ approval.
Merck CEO Karl-Ludwig Kley said the company had a “clear commitment” to St. Louis as a business location, given Sigma-Aldrich’s decades-long presence there and the company’s role as a leader in civic society — a role Kley said would continue. He said it was too early in the integration process to answer a question about possible job losses at any of the company’s facilities.
Sigma-Aldrich CEO Rakesh Sachdev said the deal was a “very positive outcome” for shareholders due to the price premium and for employees, “who will benefit from enhanced opportunities as part of a larger, more global organization.”
Merck shares shot up on the announcement, at one point trading more than 9 percent higher but easing to trade up 5.7 percent at 73.52 euro by midafternoon in Europe.
