Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, has agreed to acquire Bio-Techne for approximately $11.3 billion, the companies said today, in a deal designed to position the buyer as more of a leader across the life science value chain by expanding its presence in high-growth, next-generation life-sci markets with Bio-Techne’s tools, analytical technologies, and consumables.
The deal would add Bio-Techne’s multiomics offerings, analytical technologies, and integrated workflow solutions to German Merck’s platforms and services in research, bioprocessing and advanced therapeutics, with the aim of creating a combined company capable of helping customers from discovery and translational research through development, testing and commercial manufacturing.
Merck KGaA added that acquiring Bio-Techne would directly deliver on its mid- to long-term strategic agenda, which focuses on adding to its high-growth value drivers, integrated workflows, platformed capabilities—as well as scaling and sourcing innovation through merger-and-acquisition (M&A) deals like the Bio-Techne transaction.
That transaction is the latest in a series of acquisitions for Merck KGaA totaling more than $35 billion, including in the U.S. with acquisitions such as Millipore (for about $7 billion in 2010), as well as Sigma-Aldrich (for $17 billion in a deal announced in 2014 and completed the following year), Versum Materials (for €5.8 billion [about $6.6 billion] in 2019), and last year, SpringWorks Therapeutics (for $3.95 billion).
Merck KGaA said it would also benefit from Bio-Techne’s position as a leading provider of materials, analytics, and process technologies to cell therapy developers. Bio-Techne expects to acquire the ownership in Wilson Wolf it does not own immediately following the end of calendar year 2027 under the terms of a two-part forward contract between the company and Wilson Wolf, a manufacturer of cell culture devices, including the G-Rex product line. Bio-Techne holds 19.9% of Wilson Wolf that it acquired in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023.
Merck KGaA employs more than 14,000 people in the U.S. across over 70 company and customer sites.
The $11.3 billion Bio-Techne acquisition is the new third largest biopharma merger-and-acquisition (M&A) deal announced so far this year, behind the €10.7 billion ($12.268 billion) cash buyout offer for Italian-based Recordati being pursued by CVC Capital Partners and Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, which aim to take the company private; and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries’ planned $11.75 billion purchase of Organon, the women’s health drug developer spun out of Merck & Co., in a deal expected to close in early 2027.
The previous third-largest M&A deal this year, now fourth-largest, is the $10.9 billion AbbVie purchase of Apogee Therapeutics, announced on Monday. The fifth largest deal is GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)’s planned $10.6 billion buyout of Nuvalent, announced June 9 and expected to close in the third quarter.
“Outstanding fit”
“Bio-Techne is an outstanding fit that directly supports our strategic direction focused on delivering cutting-edge products and solutions across the entire industry value chain—from lab customers to those manufacturing in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries,” Kai Beckmann, chairman of the executive board and group CEO of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, said in a statement.
“By combining Bio-Techne’s scientific depth, innovation engine and differentiated portfolio with the global scale, manufacturing excellence and customer reach of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, we are in a strong position to address some of the most important opportunities in life sciences and support our customers in accelerating the next generation of scientific discovery and therapeutic innovation. This positions us to deliver compelling strategic and financial benefits for shareholders, customers and employees,” Beckmann added.
Those benefits, according to German Merck, include immediate accretion to the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) pre margin for both the Group as a while and its Life Science business segment upon closing of the acquisition deal.
The Life Sciences segment finished last year with €8.98 billion ($10.36 billion) in revenue. Merck KGaA does not break down its businesses further than its three segments, which also include healthcare (drug development, focused on oncology, neurology and immunology, and “global health” treatments such as for malaria) and electronics (high-tech materials).
The deal is expected to close by late 2026 or early 2027, subject to satisfying customary closing conditions that include obtaining regulatory approvals and approval by Bio-Techne shareholders.
Bio-Techne’s board of directors and the corporate bodies overseeing Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, have already approved the transaction, which will also add to earnings per share (EPS) by year three after closing, German Merck said.
€140M in “synergies”
Merck KGaA said it will carry out cost-cutting “synergies” of approximately €140 million (about $159.3 million) that are expected to be fully realized by the third year after closing.
The planned acquisition will be funded through a combination of existing cash on hand and proceeds from new debt, Merck KGaA said, adding that it will preserve its “strong” investment-grade credit rating.
For Minneapolis-based Bio-Techne, the acquisition is expected to increase its geographic and omnichannel access for its customers through integration of its offerings with those of Merck KGaA through a synergistic platform.
Bio-Techne has more than 3,000 employees, with approximately 2,300 employees based in the U.S. The company operates 34 global locations and 15 manufacturing facilities across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Switzerland and China, and generated net sales of more than $1.2 billion in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2025.
A leader in recombinant proteins with a half-century of heritage in next-generation R&D and new modalities, Bio-Techne said it would bring to German Merck a globally recognized portfolio of cytokines, growth factors, antibodies, and immunoassay kits. Bio-Techne is expected to strengthen the analytical and bioprocess solutions of Merck KGaA by adding to its offerings ProteinSimple, a leader in automated protein detection and analysis instruments. Bio-Techne added that its RNAscope and related in situ hybridization technologies would strengthen the capabilities of Merck KGaA, in spatial biology and diagnostics.
“For 50 years, Bio-Techne has enabled scientific breakthroughs across proteomics, spatial biology, and novel therapeutics,” stated Kim Kelderman, president and CEO of Bio-Techne. “This transaction is a testament to the remarkable company our team has built and to the enduring value we create for our customers and stakeholders.”
Muted enthusiasm
Bio-Techne investors appeared to share only muted enthusiasm for the deal, as the company’s shares traded on Nasdaq rose just 19.8% to $70.53 as of 12:48 pm ET, from Wednesday’s close of $58.88 per share. Merck KGaA shares traded on XETRA rose 4.93% to €147.00 ($167.25).
Puneet Souda, senior managing director, life science tools and diagnostics, and a senior research analyst with Leerink Partners, offered a possible explanation in a research note today: “The acquisition appears to be only a 24% premium to yesterday’s close and 26x the Street’s forecast for FY27 [enterprise value]/EBITDA compared to 16x for its LST [life science technologies] peer group.”
“We see the acquisition multiple undervaluing what is a highly accretive asset in our view,” Souda wrote. “Historically, TECH [Bio-Techne’s stock ticker] traded at much higher multiples given their highly accretive consumables profile (80%+ consumables) of consistent 70%+ gross margins and operating margin potential.”
One rival company in particular may benefit from the deal, Souda said: “The announcement is likely to be viewed positive for peer LST companies today, especially RVTY [Revvity] in our view.”
At $73 per share cash, the deal price represents a 36% premium to Bio-Techne’s one-month volume weighted average trading price.
“As part of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, we will have greater scale and expanded capabilities to accelerate innovation and deepen our impact. Together, we will empower our customers to tackle the most important challenges in science and healthcare, helping to improve outcomes worldwide,” Kelderman added.
