Merck KGaA "squeeze out" completed

The Civil Court of Basel, Switzerland, has cancelled all remaining publicly held shares of Merck Serono SA, the health care unit ofGermany's Merck KGaA, and annulled all outstanding rights to acquire such shares. Thus, Merck now holds 100% of Merck Serono, the shares of which will be delisted from the SWX Swiss Exchange on July 18. The final trading day is expected to be July 17.

Affected holders of the publicly-traded shares of Merck Serono will receive the same compensation per share as those who tendered their stock during the public Swiss takeover offer for 1,100 Swiss francs ($908.27) in cash per share. Merck Serono shareholders who hold their shares in a safe custody account will automatically have the offer price paid out to their account, presumably on July 31. As a consequence of the cancellation of the bearer shares, holders of American Depositary Receipts will receive in US dollars a proportionate amount based on the number of bearer shares their ADRs represent.