Germany-based Merck KGaA agreed to acquire Minneapolis-based Bio-Techne Corporation (Nasdaq: TECH) in an all-cash transaction valued at USD 11.3 billion (EUR 9.9 billion), representing the German science and technology company's largest acquisition to date and a significant expansion of its life science tools and reagents platform.
The purchase price of USD 73 per share in cash represents a 36% premium to Bio-Techne's one-month volume-weighted average trading price. Merck KGaA intends to fund the transaction through a combination of existing cash and proceeds from new debt, while maintaining a strong investment-grade credit rating. The deal is structured as a definitive merger agreement with no contingent value rights or milestone components — all consideration is fixed and guaranteed. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to sales growth and EBITDA pre margin upon closing, with earnings per share accretion anticipated by year three. Closing is expected in late 2026 or early 2027, subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Bio-Techne is a global provider of high-purity recombinant proteins, cytokines, antibodies, and multiplex immunoassay platforms — including its Simple Plex and Ella automated protein analysis systems — used across drug discovery, cell therapy manufacturing, and clinical diagnostics workflows. The company generated approximately USD 1.2 billion in net revenues in fiscal 2024 and employs over 3,000 people globally. Its portfolio of GMP-grade and research-use-only proteins, including interleukins, growth factors, and cell culture reagents, positions it as a critical upstream supplier for biologics development and advanced therapy manufacturing. Bio-Techne competes directly with Thermo Fisher Scientific and Lonza in the recombinant protein and bioprocessing reagents market, though its breadth of validated immunoassay platforms and protein characterization tools differentiates it in translational research settings.