Merck has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Bio-Techne Corporation for $73 per share in cash, valuing the Minneapolis-based life sciences tools provider at an enterprise value of approximately $11.3bn (€9.9bn).
The transaction represents a 36% premium to Bio-Techne's one-month volume-weighted average trading price and is expected to be immediately accretive to sales growth and EBITDA pre-margin following closing.
For pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturers, the acquisition brings several technologies directly into Merck's existing infrastructure.
Bio-Techne's portfolio includes ProteinSimple, an automated protein detection and analysis platform that strengthens analytical and bioprocess capabilities, alongside RNAscope and related in situ hybridisation technologies for spatial biology and diagnostics applications.
The company also holds a 19.9% stake in Wilson Wolf Corporation, manufacturer of the G-Rex cell culture device line, with Bio-Techne expected to acquire the remaining ownership following the end of calendar year 2027.
Jean-Charles Wirth, Member of the Executive Board of Merck and CEO Life Science, said the deal strengthens the company's presence in multi-omics, spatial biology, precision diagnostics and cell and gene therapy, adding capabilities across its Discovery Solutions, Advanced Solutions and Process Solutions offerings to support increasingly complex manufacturing workflows.
Bio-Techne operates 15 manufacturing facilities across the US, Canada, the UK, Switzerland and China and generated net sales exceeding $1.2bn in fiscal year 2025.
Merck said the combined business would broaden its reach into higher-value reagents, analytics and cell and gene therapy workflows while strengthening discovery, development and manufacturing capabilities across the value chain.
The acquisition continues Merck's inorganic growth strategy, which has included more than $35bn in investment during a period of two decades through deals such as Millipore, Sigma-Aldrich, Versum and SpringWorks Therapeutics.
Annual cost synergies of approximately €140m are anticipated to be fully realised by year three post-closing.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
