EU Commission clears acquisition of Life Technologies by Thermo Fisher, subject to conditions

The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed $13.6 billion acquisition of Life Technologies (Nasdaq: LIFE) by rival Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO), both US-based companies active in life science markets (The Pharma Letter April 15), but with conditions.

Their activities overlap in the supply of laboratory instruments and consumables. The clearance is conditional on divestments of businesses producing and supplying (i) media and sera for cell culture, (ii) gene silencing products and (iii) polymer-based magnetic beads. In these areas, the merger, as initially notified, would have significantly reduced competition.

Commission Vice President in charge of competition policy Joaquín Almunia stated: "The remedies preserve competition and innovation in the life sciences industry. The Commission's investigation of these complex markets was conducted in close cooperation with a significant number of competition authorities worldwide, such as the US Federal Trade Commission and the Australian competition regulator, making this global case a good example of international cooperation."