Bio-Techne Shareholders Approve $73/Share Merck KGaA Acquisition
TECH sits 68% above its 52-week low of $43.195.
Summary
Bio-Techne shareholders voted to approve the $73 per share all-cash acquisition by Merck KGaA at today's special meeting, with 121,929,544 votes for, 1,208,817 against, and 30,610 abstaining on the merger proposal. The compensation advisory vote failed, with 25,912,275 votes for and 96,412,306 against. The HSR waiting period expired September 18, clearing a key U.S. antitrust hurdle. The company expects the deal to close by late 2026 or early 2027, subject to remaining regulatory approvals. This follows the German Federal Cartel Office approval in August and the definitive proxy filed in August. The vote removes the last major shareholder-level uncertainty, though a shareholder lawsuit seeking to block the vote was disclosed September 14. With the stock trading near its 52-week high at $72.55, the market is pricing in a high probability of completion.
Updated with an SEC 8-K filing · What changed
Updates
· SEC 8-K — Final vote tallies: 121,929,544 for, 1,208,817 against, 30,610 abstaining on merger proposal; compensation advisory vote failed with 25,912,275 for and 96,412,306 against.
At the time of this announcement, TECH was trading at $72.55 on NASDAQ in the Life Sciences sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $11.4B. The 52-week trading range was $43.20 to $72.69. This news item was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 9 out of 10. Source: PR Newswire.