In a move to bolster its life-sciences business, Merck KGaA has agreed to acquire Bio-Techne, a Minneapolis-Minnesota provider of life-science tools, analytical technologies, and consumables, for $11.3 billion. The acquisition is one of the largest in the company’s history, surpassed only by its $17-billion acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich in 2015. The life-sciences business of Merck KGaA is known as MilliporeSigma in the US and Canada.

The planned acquisition would strengthen Merck KGaA’s position in high-growth and accelerating areas, including multi-omics, spatial biology, cell and gene therapy, precision diagnostics, and advanced research tools. It would also bolster and broaden the Process Solutions business unit of Merck KGaA with higher-value reagents, analytics, and cell and gene therapy workflows, and strengthen discovery, development and manufacturing capabilities. 

Bio-Techne provides products for recombinant proteins with a portfolio of cytokines, growth factors, antibodies, and immunoassay kits. It also provides its ProteinSimple, a line of automated protein detection and analytical instruments, and its RNAscope and related in situ hybridization technologies for use in spatial biology and diagnostics applications.  

In addition, the acquisition adds materials, analytics, and process technologies for cell therapies. In fiscal year 2023, Bio-Techne acquired 19.9% of Wilson Wolf Corporation, a manufacturer of cell-culture devices, including the G-Rex product line, and Bio-Techne expects to acquire the remaining ownership in Wilson Wolf following the end of calendar-year 2027 under the terms of a two-part forward contract between Wilson Wolf and Bio-Techne. 
 
Bio-Techne has more than 3,000 employees, with approximately 2,300 employees based in the US. It operates 34 global locations and 15 manufacturing facilities across the US, Canada, the UK, Switzerland, and China and generated net sales of more than $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2025. 

Under the agreement, Bio-Techne shareholders will receive $73 per share in cash, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $11.3 billion. The proposed transaction has been approved by Bio-Techne’s Board of Directors and the relevant corporate bodies of Merck KGaA and is expected to close by late 2026 or early 2027, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals and approval by Bio-Techne shareholders. 

Source: Merck KGaA