Establishes Merck Animal Health as a Leader
in Emerging Digital Tracking, Traceability and Monitoring
Technology
Complements Merck Animal Health Portfolio of
Vaccines and Pharmaceuticals
Merck [NYSE:MRK], known as MSD outside the United States and
Canada, and privately held Antelliq Group today announced that the
companies have signed a definitive agreement under which Merck will
acquire Antelliq from funds advised by BC Partners. Antelliq will
be a wholly owned and separately operated subsidiary within the
Merck Animal Health Division. Merck will make a cash payment of
approximately 2.1 billion euros to acquire all outstanding shares
of Antelliq and will assume Antelliq’s debt of 1.15 billion euros,
which it intends to repay shortly after the closing of the
acquisition.
Antelliq is a leader in digital animal identification,
traceability and monitoring solutions, the fastest growing part of
the animal health industry, with 360 million euros in sales in the
12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2018. These solutions help
veterinarians, farmers and pet owners gather critical data to
improve management, health and well-being of livestock and pets.
The increasing use of digital technology in animal agriculture is
driven by the growing demand for protein, food traceability and
food safety. Identification and monitoring technologies will help
optimize disease prediction and treatment and this acquisition will
provide Merck Animal Health with a large, established customer base
in both areas.
“Merck Animal Health is a leader in the animal health business
and has delivered consistent above-market growth driven by a broad
portfolio of innovative pharmaceuticals, vaccines and other
value-added technologies and services. Antelliq’s people and
products complement this portfolio by adding market-leading digital
products, extending the range of solutions we can provide our
customers and further driving the growth of our business,” said
Kenneth C. Frazier, chairman and chief executive officer, Merck.
“This acquisition is well aligned with our strategy to generate
long-term growth and sustainable value for our customers and
shareholders.”
“Merck has a strong and growing animal health business, and we
are delighted that our superior offering of technology, products
and services, as well as our global relationships, together with
Merck, will bring additional value to our customers,” said Stefan
Weiskopf, DVM, chief executive officer, Antelliq. “With more than
60 years of experience, we are constantly re-imagining animal care
to improve the quality of life for animals and for the people who
care for them.”
With its extensive suite of digitally connected identification
and monitoring products, Antelliq is uniquely positioned to support
the needs of farmers and veterinarians. These products allow access
to real-time, actionable information to help improve livestock
management and health outcomes. In addition, Antelliq offers
pet owners digitally connected products to help them enhance their
pets’ quality of life.
“The animal health industry is rapidly evolving with
revolutionary digital solutions to manage the health and well-being
of livestock and companion animals,” said Rick DeLuca, president,
Merck Animal Health. “Animal identification, animal monitoring and
smart data management are critical components of this
transformative technology. This acquisition represents yet another
way that we will ensure our place as a leader in animal health,
with a substantial and sustainable position, including the most
innovative, technological solutions to serve our customers. Through
our commitment to the Science of Healthier Animals™, we are
dedicated to preserving and improving the health, well-being and
performance of animals.”
Jean-Baptiste Wautier, chairman of Antelliq and partner at BC
Partners commented, “Antelliq is a unique business which played a
pivotal role in driving forward the convergence of the animal
intelligence and animal health industries globally. We are proud of
the transformation of the company that we initiated together with a
fantastic leadership team over the past five years and believe that
Merck is an ideal partner for Antelliq to support the next stage of
its growth. As a truly innovative market leader with a clear vision
and dynamic team, Antelliq has significant potential to continue
leading the industry, as the use of intelligence, data and
technology play an increasingly important role in animal health and
care.”
The closing of the transaction is subject to clearance by
antitrust and competition law authorities and other customary
closing conditions, and is expected to close in the second quarter
of 2019. Merck was represented by Barclays and Centerview Partners
and Antelliq was represented by Goldman Sachs International and
Rothschild & Co.
About Merck
For more than a century, Merck, a leading global
biopharmaceutical company known as MSD outside of the United States
and Canada, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines
and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases.
Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies
and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in
more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We
also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to health care
through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. Today,
Merck continues to be at the forefront of research to advance the
prevention and treatment of diseases that threaten people and
communities around the world - including cancer, cardio-metabolic
diseases, emerging animal diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and
infectious diseases including HIV and Ebola. For more information,
visit www.merck.com and connect with us
on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
and LinkedIn.
About Antelliq
Antelliq is the world’s leading animal intelligence group,
providing world-class devices for animal identification,
monitoring, and traceability. Our pioneering monitoring solutions
deliver smart data products and services for the management and
wellbeing of livestock, fish and pets. For over 60 years we have
been satisfying customer needs in over 100 countries, supported by
22 production sites, spanning five continents. Antelliq has four
regional innovation centers and many brands working collaboratively
to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges: supporting
farmers with real-time actionable information, providing a deeper
connection with pets, and supporting conservation. Across Antelliq,
our different brands provide the technology and intelligence that
will be at the heart of overcoming these challenges. The name
Antelliq is the embodiment of everything we stand for: intelligence
connecting animals and people. For more information, visit
www.antelliq.com.
Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc.,
Kenilworth, N.J., USA
This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J.,
USA (the “company”) includes “forward-looking statements” within
the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are
based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company’s
management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties.
There can be no guarantees with respect to pipeline products that
the products will receive the necessary regulatory approvals or
that they will prove to be commercially successful. If underlying
assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize,
actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the
forward-looking statements.
Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general
industry conditions and competition; general economic factors,
including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations;
the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care
legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends
toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new
products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent
in new product development, including obtaining regulatory
approval; the company’s ability to accurately predict future market
conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial
instability of international economies and sovereign risk;
dependence on the effectiveness of the company’s patents and other
protections for innovative products; and the exposure to
litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory
actions.
The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause
results to differ materially from those described in the
forward-looking statements can be found in the company’s 2017
Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company’s other filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC’s
Internet site (www.sec.gov).
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181214005076/en/
Merck Media:Noreen Verbrugge+
1-973-937-5450Noreen.Verbrugge@merck.com
Pam Eisele+1-267-305-3558Pamela.Eisele@merck.com
Antelliq MediaPiers Hampson+ 44 (0) 1954 266
001p.hampson@surepetcare.com
Prosek Partners (BC/Antelliq)+44 (0)20 3878
8560Pro-bcpartners@prosek.com
Merck Investors:Michael DeCarbo+
1-908-740-1807Michael.decarbo@merck.com
Teri Loxam+ 1-908-740-1986teri.loxam@merck.com
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