Udit Batra, currently chief executive officer and president of the Life Science business, has been appointed to lead the combined life science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, once the acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich has been completed.
 
Mr. Batra joined Merck KGaA in 2011 to head the Group’s Consumer Health business. Prior to that, he worked at Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, where he was head of Global Public Health and Market Access.
 
The $17 billion transaction, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, is expected to close mid-2015. Until then, the life science business of Merck KGaA and Sigma-Aldrich will continue to operate as separate companies with Udit Batra and Rakesh Sachdev, president and chief executive officer of Sigma-Aldrich, running both organizations independently. Mr. Sachdev will serve in an advisory capacity, as needed, to ensure a smooth transition.
 
“Today’s appointment marks another important step in the acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich as it provides stable and strong leadership and continued customer focus during the crucial months of integration planning and beyond,” said Karl-Ludwig Kley, chairman of the executive board of Merck KGaA. “Udit is a proven leader who has demonstrated his ability to work successfully with his leadership team to guide large organizations, drive performance and deliver to our customers. I also want to express my gratitude to the Sigma-Aldrich employees for building the organization into a leading global life science tools company and to Rakesh, personally, for providing excellent leadership to the Sigma-Aldrich organization, both culturally and as demonstrated by the company’s strong performance.”