The Commerce Commission has received an application from Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (Thermo Fisher) seeking clearance to acquire Life Technologies Corporation (Life Technologies).

Thermo Fisher and Life Technologies both operate in the life sciences industry. They produce a wide range of products for scientific applications. Areas of product overlap include cell culture, transplant diagnostics, protein and molecular biology.

A key product in which the parties overlap is the production of foetal bovine serum which is used in cell cultures to stimulate cell reproduction. Foetal bovine serum is used by scientific and pharmaceutical customers for research, and the manufacture of human and veterinary vaccines and drugs.

A public version of the application will be available on our Clearances Register shortly.

Background

Assessing an application for a merger or acquisition

When considering a proposed merger, the Commission must decide whether the competition that is lost in a market when two businesses merge is substantial. We will give clearance to a proposed merger only if we are satisfied that the merger is unlikely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.

A fact sheet explaining how the Commission assesses a merger application is available on the Merger Assessment Fact Sheet page.