Global law firm Clifford Chance has advised leading science and technology company Merck from Darmstadt on its intended acquisition of Unity-SC, a French provider of metrology and inspection instrumentation for the semiconductor industry. With this transaction, Merck is expanding its portfolio of key technologies such as AI-enabled semiconductors, which are essential for the development of AI applications. The intended acquisition requires a French works council’s consultation and is subject to regulatory approvals
The combination of Unity-SC’s measurement technologies with Merck’s offering in the field of semiconductor materials will contribute to the development of computer chips required for the next steps in innovating AI and other applications. The highly precise metrology measurement devices of Unity-SC make it possible to further optimise the quality, yield, and manufacturing costs of chips used in applications related to AI, High-Performance Computing, and High-Bandwidth Memory.
Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across life science, healthcare and electronics and specialises on products and services that accelerate drug development and manufacturing, discovering unique ways to treat diseases and enabling the intelligence of devices. In 2023, Merck generated sales of €21 billion in 65 countries.
The international Clifford Chance team with core teams from Germany and France comprised partner Simon Schmid, senior associate Ribana Piontek (both Corporate/M&A, Düsseldorf), partner Marc Besen, counsel Caroline Scholke, associate Patricia Trapp (all Antitrust, Düsseldorf), partner Olaf Mertgen and senior associate Christian Klein (both Tax, Frankfurt), partner Laurent Schoenstein, counsel Julien Brun, associate Marie Silvain (all Corporate, Paris), partner David Tayar and associate Hendrik Coppoolse and Flore Petitot (all Antitrust), partner Florence Aubonnet and associate Clémentine Marçais (both Employment), associate Samuel Sellam (Real Estate), counsel Pierre Goyat (Tax), associates Victoria Hautcoeur (Litigation, Public Law) and Benoît Bénin (Global Financial Markets, all Paris), partner Yong Bai (Antitrust, Beijing), associate Emily Tong (Corporate, Shanghai), associate Christie Long (Corporate, Singapore). From the US offices partner Benjamin Sibbett (Corporate M&A, New York) and partner Renée Latour (Antitrust, Washington DC) provided advice.
Inhouse advice was provided by Alexander KrĂĽger (Senior Corporate Counsel), Johannes Rodriguez (Director Mergers & Acquisitions) and Malte Christians (Corporate Counsel).
