Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany Completes Millipore Acquisition And Launches New EMD Millipore Division (Merck Millipore Division Outside U.S. And Canada)

Merck KGaA*, a global pharmaceutical and chemical company, today announced the successful completion of its acquisition of Millipore Corporation (formerly NYSE: MIL), a leading Life Science company based in Billerica, Massachusetts, USA, for an aggregate purchase price including debt and cash of approximately $7.0 billion. Merck agreed to acquire Millipore on February 28, 2010 for $107 in cash per share of Millipore common stock. The closing follows the approval of the acquisition by Millipore’s shareholders at a special meeting held on June 3, 2010 and the satisfaction of other customary conditions, including antitrust clearance in the United States and Europe. Merck will now begin the process of delisting the shares of Millipore from the New York Stock Exchange and removing the shares from registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

“With today’s launch of EMD 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,” said Dr. Karl-Ludwig Kley, Chairman of the Merck Executive Board. “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.”

With the close of the transaction, Dr. Bernd Reckmann will assume the role of Head of the EMD Millipore division. Dr. Reckmann joined Merck in 1986 working in the diagnostics research unit. He has held several senior management positions during his tenure and previously served as President of the Merck Companies in Korea. In 2007, he was appointed to the Executive Board of Merck and as a General Partner. Dr. Reckmann will continue to serve as Head of Merck’s Chemicals Business Sector, overseeing both the EMD Millipore and Performance Materials divisions, and as a member of the Executive Board.