Editing Merck Group (section)

{{short description|German multinational science and technology company}}
{{distinguish|text=[[Merck & Co.]] (d.b.a. MSD outside U.S. and Canada), its former subsidiary and now an independent company}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}

{{Infobox company
| name = Merck KGaA
| logo = Logo Merck KGaA 2015.svg
| logo_caption = Logo since 2015
| image = Merck KGaA 01.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| image_caption = Headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany
| type = [[Public company|Public]]
| traded_as = {{Plainlist|
* {{FWB|MRK}}
* {{FWB|MRKC}}
* [[DAX]] component (MRK)
}}
| foundation = {{Start date and age|1668|||df=yes}}
| founder = [[Friedrich Jacob Merck]]
| location_city = [[Darmstadt]]
| location_country = Germany
| locations = <!--# of locations-->
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = {{plainlist|
* [[Belén Garijo]] ([[Chief executive officer|CEO]] and [[chairman]] of the [[executive board]])
* Michael Kleinemeier (chairman of the [[supervisory board]])
}}
| industry = {{ubl|[[Chemical industry|Chemicals]]|[[Pharmaceutical industry|Pharmaceuticals]]}}
| products = [[Liquid crystal]]s, [[List of life sciences|life science]] and performance chemicals, Bioprocessing-Solutions, [[small molecule]]s and [[biopharmaceutical]]s
| services = 
| revenue = {{increase}} {{€|21.16&nbsp;billion|link=yes}} (2024)
| operating_income = {{increase}} €3.645&nbsp;billion (2024)
| net_income = {{decrease}} €2.777&nbsp;billion (2024)
| assets = {{increase}} €51.57&nbsp;billion (2024)
| equity = {{increase}} €29.99&nbsp;billion (2024)
| num_employees = 62,557 (2024)
| parent = 
| owner = {{ubl|
|E. Merck KG<br />(70.3% of capital)
|Select Equity group LP (3%)
|[[Sun Life Financial]] (3.5%)
}}|||
| homepage = {{URL|merckgroup.com}}
| footnotes = <ref name=AR2024>{{cite web|url=https://www.emdgroup.com/en/annualreport/2024/_assets/downloads/entire-emd-ar24.pdf |title= 2024 Annual Report |access-date=11 March 2025 |publisher=Merck KGaA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.merckgroup.com/investors/reports-and-financials/earnings-materials/2021-q1/en/2021-Q1-Report-EN.pdf | title= About us – Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://ar2015.merckgroup.com/corporate-governance/capital-structure-and-governance-bodies-of-merck-kgaa | title=Capital structure and governance bodies of Merck KGaA &#124; Annual Report 2015, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://ar2016.merckgroup.com/corporate-governance/%07capital-structure-and-governance-bodies-of-merck-kgaa | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226182255/http://ar2016.merckgroup.com/corporate-governance/%07capital-structure-and-governance-bodies-of-merck-kgaa | url-status=dead | archive-date=26 December 2017 | title=Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany Annual Report 2016 &#124; Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany Annual Report 2016 }}</ref><ref name="shareholders">{{Cite web|url=https://www.merckgroup.com/en/investors/shares-and-bonds/shareholders.html|title = Shareholder – Investors &#124; Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany}}</ref>
}}

The '''Merck Group''', branded and commonly known as '''Merck''', is a German [[Multinational corporation|multinational]] science and technology company headquartered in [[Darmstadt]], with about 60,000 employees and a presence in 66 countries. The group includes around 250 companies; the main company is Merck [[KGaA]] in Germany. The company is divided into three business lines: Healthcare, Life Sciences and Electronics. Merck was founded in 1668 and is the world's oldest operating chemical and pharmaceutical company, as well as one of the largest pharmaceutical companies globally.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Merck: Das älteste Chemieunternehmen der Welt|language=de|url=https://www.manager-magazin.de/unternehmen/artikel/a-438352.html|date=21 September 2006|access-date=6 July 2023|website=Manager Magazin}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Zum Verwechseln gleich |language=de |url=http://www.ftd.de/unternehmen/firmen-des-tages/:firmennamen-zum-verwechseln-gleich/50062516.html |first1=Martin |last1=Richter |first2=Isabel |last2=Gomez |website=Financial Times Deutschland |date=21 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726093347/http://www.ftd.de/unternehmen/firmen-des-tages/:firmennamen-zum-verwechseln-gleich/50062516.html |archive-date=26 July 2010}}</ref>

Merck operates in [[Europe]], [[Africa]], [[Asia]], [[Oceania]] and the [[Americas]]. It has major [[research and development]] centres in [[Darmstadt]], [[Boston]], [[Tokyo]] and [[Beijing]], as well as other Research and Development units in [[Taiwan]], [[France]], [[Israel]], [[South Korea]], [[India]], and the [[UK]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=GLOBAL R&D HUBS Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.|url=https://www.merckgroup.com/en/research/global-r-and-d-hubs.html}}</ref> Merck pioneered the commercial manufacture of [[morphine]] in the 19th century and for a time held a virtual monopoly on [[cocaine]].

Merck was privately owned until going public on the [[Frankfurt Stock Exchange]] in 1995 and is listed on the [[DAX]] index of Germany's top companies. The [[Merck family]] still controls a majority of 70.3% of the company's shares. The Merck Group includes around 250 companies in 180 countries; the current main parent company of the group, since 1995, is named ''Merck [[KGaA]]'', and is itself mainly owned by the former main parent company, ''E. Merck [[General partnership|oHG]]'', which now operates as a [[holding company]].

The American pharmaceutical company [[Merck & Co.]] was established as a subsidiary of Merck in 1891, but was [[Nationalization|nationalized]] by the United States in 1917, before being privatized again when [[George W. Merck]], a member of an American branch of the Merck family, repurchased the stock in 1919.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merck.com/about/our-history/home.html/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091106061843/http://www.merck.com/about/our-history/home.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 November 2009|title = Our History Timeline|access-date = 2 April 2018}}</ref> It is known as MSD (''Merck Sharp and Dohme'') outside of North America. The original Merck of Darmstadt holds the rights to the name Merck in all countries except the U.S. and Canada, where it is known as EMD (''Emanuel Merck, Darmstadt''), and the life science business specifically is known as MilliporeSigma. In 2015 Merck adopted a uniform brand identity for all its subsidiaries, and the company has stressed its intention to protect the brand of "the real Merck" globally and initiated litigation against its former subsidiary over use of the name.<ref name="Bloomberg14">{{Cite news |title=A Tale of Two Mercks as Protesters Take On Wrong Company |first1=Allison |last1=Connolly |first2=Makiko |last2=Kitamura |website=Bloomberg |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-02-10/a-tale-of-two-mercks-as-protesters-take-on-wrong-company |date=10 February 2014 |access-date=6 July 2023 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513031153/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-02-10/a-tale-of-two-mercks-as-protesters-take-on-wrong-company |archive-date=13 May 2015}}</ref>

In 2018, the company celebrated their 350th anniversary.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.biospectrumasia.com/news/48/10289/merck-gears-up-for-its-350th-anniversary.html|title=Merck gears up for its 350th Anniversary|publisher=Bio Spectrum|date=8 February 2018|access-date=2 November 2018|quote=Merck is celebrating its 350th anniversary. The theme of the celebration will be "Always curious – Imagine the next 350 years".}}</ref> Merck has formed a strategic alliance with the [[Technische Universität Darmstadt]], which is located in the same town as Merck.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tu-darmstadt.de/wissenstransfer/kooperation_mit_unternehmen/formen_der_zusammenarbeit/strategische_partnerschaften_2/index.de.jsp|title=Strategische Partnerschaften|last=Darmstadt|first=Technische Universität|website=Technische Universität Darmstadt|language=de|access-date=29 July 2019|archive-date=29 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929111350/https://www.tu-darmstadt.de/wissenstransfer/kooperation_mit_unternehmen/formen_der_zusammenarbeit/strategische_partnerschaften_2/index.de.jsp|url-status=dead}}</ref>