Germany's Merck Snags Lab Products Company for $7.2 Billion

A U.S. lab technology and equipment maker attracted some high-profile interest before agreeing to a $7.2 billion buyout from Germany's Merck KGaA.

Massachusetts-based Millipore Corp., which sells products and services to pharmaceutical and biotechnolgy companies, put itself up for sale after Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. made an unsolicited takeover offer, according to Bloomberg News. General Electric Co. also weighed a bid, the news service says. Nothing like a big bear hug to motivate a CEO to sell.

"Today’s announcement, which is the outcome of a thorough strategic review process, is a validation of the tremendous value of the Millipore brand and a testament to the value this transformation has created for all of our stakeholders," Millipore CEO Martin Madaus says in a statement.

Millipore had $1.7 billion in sales last year, a 3 percent increase from the previous year. Merck plans to take $100 million in annual costs out of the company.

Merck (which is no relation to U.S. drug maker Merck & Co.) calls the price of $6 billion in cash and the assumption of debt "fair." Certainly, at more than 13 times earnings (Bloomberg's estimate), it's a full price for the company and may signal the return of a healthier, more competitive M&A market. Merck's offer of $107 a share was far higher than Thermo Fisher's $95 a share offer, Bloomberg reports.