Private company

Merck KGaA

Logo: Unknown author Unknown author (Merck KGaA), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

German multinational science and technology company

The Merck Group, branded and commonly known as Merck, is a German 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.2 From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 16, 2026.

Overview

1668Founded1
  • Tickeron Frankfurt Stock Exchange1
  • Industrychemical industry, manufacture of pharmaceutical preparations, pharmaceutical industry1
  • HeadquartersDarmstadt1
  • Founded inDarmstadt1
  • Websitewww.merckgroup.com
  • Legal formKommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien, partnership limited by shares1
  • Listed onFrankfurt Stock Exchange (MRK)1
Merck KGaA 01
Photo: Kuebi = Armin Kübelbeck, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

The Merck Group, branded and commonly known as Merck, is a German 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.2

The story

Founded by Friedrich Jacob Merck, Carl Merck, Georg Merck, Heinrich Emanuel Merck and Wilhelm Merck in 1668, in Darmstadt.1

Leadership

Who has led Merck KGaA, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Board members and other officers (1)

Subsidiaries and ownership

Subsidiaries

  • Merck (Canada)
  • Merck (India)
  • Merck (United Kingdom)
  • Merck SL
  • Merck Serono
  • Millipore Corporation
  • Seven Seas Limited
  • Sigma-Aldrich

From Wikidata.1

Employees over time

Merck KGaA employees by year160.3K in 2021+8% since 2016
020.0K40.0K60.0K80.0K2016: 56.0K56.0K20162020: 57.6K57.6K2020+3%2021: 60.3K60.3K2021+5%
  • 202160,3481
  • 202057,5801
  • 201656,0001

Revenue over time

As stated on Wikidata, in the currency reported.

Revenue

  • 202017.5B EUR1

Timeline

  1. May 2021New chief executive Belén Garijo becomes CEO1
  2. Apr 2016New chief executive Stefan Oschmann becomes CEO1
  3. Apr 2007New chief executive Karl-Ludwig Kley becomes CEO1
  4. 1668Founded Founded in Darmstadt1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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