On September 26, 2019, Merck Merck, a leading global technology company, announced that it has completed the acquisition of Intermolecular. The $ 62 million acquisition will further strengthen Merck's materials technology and product portfolio serving the semiconductor industry, marking Merck's emergence as a strong high-tech solution provider in the electronic materials industry.
Intermolecular is headquartered in California, USA, and has an industry-leading position in advanced materials and application innovation. By integrating the business and product portfolios of both parties, it will accelerate innovation in the materials field and further reduce research and development time to market. This move is a milestone in the process of Merck's acquisition of Versum and the strategic layout of the semiconductor industry. The completion of this acquisition will promote the rapid application and development of various digital technologies and digital devices.
Kai Beckmann, a member of the Merck executive board and CEO of the high-performance materials business, said: "Completing the acquisition of Intermolecular is of great significance to us. For three and a half centuries, we have been committed to promoting the entire human society through technological innovation Intermolecular and Merck have the same ambition. In the future, we will work together to accelerate innovation in the electronic materials industry and promote the development of the semiconductor industry. "
After the acquisition, approximately 90 employees of Intermolecular's R & D base in San Jose, California will join Merck's Performance Materials business. On May 6, 2019, Merck signed the final agreement to acquire Intermolecular, through a subsidiary to make an all-cash acquisition of $ 1.20 per share, with a total value of approximately $ 62 million.
Intermolecular focuses on the field of materials applications, has a fast experiment and test platform, and powerful hardware and software facilities, which are highly matched with Merck's existing high-performance materials business and provide useful supplements. In particular, Intermolecular's manufacturing and testing capabilities can enable direct testing of material combinations under specific target applications. Compared with traditional methods, it can greatly save the development process time, shorten the learning cycle, and provide customers with unique value-added services.
In addition, Merck's high-performance materials business recently ushered in another important milestone in the strategic layout of semiconductor technology: On September 16, 2019, the United States Foreign Investment Commission (CFIUS) officially completed the acquisition of Versum Review of proposals. Merck signed the final agreement to acquire Versum for $ 53 per share in cash on April 12, 2019. Versum is a leading specialty materials and equipment supplier serving the semiconductor industry. The two parties will continue to work hard to obtain China's antitrust approval and meet other conventional acquisition terms, with the goal of completing the acquisition in the second half of 2019.