Millipore officially becomes part of Merck KGaA

DARMSTADT, Germany German drug maker Merck KGaA has finished acquiring U.S. life-sciences company Millipore, Merck KGaA said Thursday.

Merck KGaA, a distinct company from U.S.-based Merck, bought Billerica, Mass.-based Millipore for $7 billion, having agreed to buy it in February. As a subsidiary, Millipore will be renamed Merck Millipore.

“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,” Merck KGaA executive board chairman Karl-Ludwig Kley said. “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.”