MilliporeSigma Acquires BioControl to Strengthen Position in Food Safety Testing

"BioControl's acquisition strengthens our ability to help customers protect the global food supply by providing an expansive portfolio of state-of-the-art testing technology," said Udit Batra, Member of the Executive Board of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and CEO, MilliporeSigma. "BioControl's innovative assays and validated kits, when combined with MilliporeSigma's strengths in microbiology, filtration and e-commerce will create a strong global provider aimed at solving tough challenges in the food pathogen testing space."

The global spotlight on the importance of food safety has grown given the increased incidents of outbreaks and recalls with foodborne diseases often caused by consuming a wide range of foods including undercooked meat, eggs, fresh produce and dairy products contaminated by Salmonella, Listeria, E.coli O157H7 and Campylobacter. BioControl's product portfolio includes pathogen detection kits to identify these food poisoning bacteria in food and ingredients and its key customers include meat producers.

"MilliporeSigma is the best home for Biocontrol, our customers and our employees," said Phil Feldsine, President and Chief Executive of BioControl. "MilliporeSigma's global market presence as a leader in laboratory sciences will introduce BioControl's innovative, customer oriented solutions to a much broader base worldwide while providing existing customers with access to MilliporeSigma's food safety product portfolio and expertise. The opportunity for BioControl to become part of a world class 350-year-old organization with a reputation for doing it the right way is very rewarding."

The acquisition is in line with MilliporeSigma's strategy to expand in key geographies and provide a differentiated experience to customers in applied settings, including food and beverage safety testing. While the business will continue to focus on microbial quality control solutions for pharmaceutical production processes and products, an area where the business currently has leading market share, the acquisition will enable MilliporeSigma to offer a complete food pathogen testing platform to its customers in the food and beverage safety testing market.

Achelous Partners acted as financial advisor to BioControl on this transaction. Nixon Peabody LLP represented MilliporeSigma in the transaction.

About Biocontrol

BioControl is one of the leading companies in innovative rapid microbiology tests for food safety for more than 30 years. It offers a diverse third party validated product portfolio lines, which include industrial microbiology testing, rapid detection methods for food-borne pathogens, the quantitative measurement of microorganisms, and hygiene monitoring. The company primarily sells its products to food manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, contract testing labs and government labs. BioControl is based in Bellevue, WA, with over 100 employees worldwide. In FY 2015, it generated revenue of $34 million. For further details: visit www.biocontrolsys.com

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About the Life Science Business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

The life science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, which operates as MilliporeSigma in the U.S. and Canada, has 19,000 employees and 65 manufacturing sites worldwide, with a portfolio of more than 300,000 products enabling scientific discovery. Udit Batra is the global chief executive officer of MilliporeSigma.

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany completed its $17 billion acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich in November 2015, creating a leader in the $125 billion global life science industry.

Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany is a leading company for innovative and top-quality high-tech products in healthcare, life science and performance materials. The company has six businesses – Biopharmaceuticals, Consumer Health, Allergopharma, Biosimilars, Life Science and Performance Materials – and generated sales of €12.85 billion in 2015. Around 50,000 employees work in 66 countries to improve the quality of life for patients, to foster the success of customers and to help meet global challenges.

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company – since 1668, the company has stood for innovation, business success and responsible entrepreneurship. Holding an approximately 70 percent interest, the founding family remains the majority owner of the company to this day. The company holds the global rights to the name and the trademark "Merck" internationally except for the United States and Canada, where the company operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Performance Materials.

SOURCE MilliporeSigma