Sigma-Aldrich, headquartered in St Louis in the US, is already the world's largest supplier of biochemicals and organic chemicals to research laboratories, clocking up sales of $2.7 billion last year.

According to the Associated Press, Merck CEO Karl-Ludwig Kley said the firm had a “clear commitment” to St. Louis, Missouri, where Sigma-Aldrich is based. According to the news report, “he said it was ...

In 2015, Merck agreed to buy U.S. lab equipment supplier Sigma-Aldrich for $17 billion. Merck, which has a market value of 61.25 billion euros ($63.13 billion) has suffered high-profile setbacks ...