Overview
- The companies signed a definitive agreement on Thursday, June 25, 2026, under which Merck will pay $73 in cash per Bio‑Techne share for an enterprise value of about $11.3 billion.
- Merck plans to fund the purchase with existing cash and new borrowing and says it will preserve its investment‑grade credit rating while closing the deal in late 2026 or early 2027.
- The buyer expects roughly €140 million in annual cost synergies to be realized by year three after closing and forecasts EBITDA margin and EPS accretion within three years.
- Markets reacted sharply to the announcement with Bio‑Techne shares jumping roughly 20% and analysts noting the deal adds thousands of proteins, hundreds of thousands of antibodies, and instruments for spatial biology and cell therapy.
- The acquisition furthers Merck’s long‑running life‑sciences M&A push and could change competitive dynamics for research‑tools suppliers while affecting Bio‑Techne employees, customers, and product distribution as the companies integrate.