Merck KGaA's $11.3B all-cash Bio-Techne deal tests balance sheet recovery after Sigma-Aldrich

Merck KGaA agreed June 25 to buy Bio-Techne for $11.3 billion in cash at $73 per share—the German pharma company's largest acquisition since Sigma-Aldrich in 2015. The all-cash structure avoids shareholder dilution but immediately strains debt metrics. Fixed-income investors will watch how fast Merck deleverages post-close. The deal signals the company's balance sheet has recovered sufficient capacity after prior leverage.