Through its subsidiary EMD Group Holding II, Germany’s Merck KGaA has agreed to acquire Intermolecular for $1.20 per share, yielding an equity value of $62 million. The US company based in San Jose, California, is a supplier of advanced materials to a range of industries including semiconductors, consumer electronics, automotive and aerospace. In 2018, it had sales of $33.7 million and 90 employees.

The transaction already approved by the Merck executive board and Intermolecular’s board of directors is expected to complete in the second half of this year, subject to the approval of Intermolecular’s stockholders as well as regulatory clearances and other customary closing conditions The German company trades in the US under the name of EMD.

Intermolecular’s production and testing capabilities allow material combinations to be tested directly within the specific target application. In comparison to conventional methods, these capabilities translate to major time reductions in the development process as well as dramatically accelerating learning cycles and insights into novel material systems, Merck said.

Kai Beckmann, member of the Merck executive board and CEO of Performance Materials, said Intermolecular’s unique capabilities in rapid materials screening, in combination with Merck’s R&D pipeline, will allow the Darmstadt-based company to offer its customers faster materials innovation and device integration compared to conventional materials R&D.

Chris Kramer, president and CEO of Intermolecular, added that the two firms’ technology expertise is “very complementary.”

In its most recent prior move to better position itself as an electronics industry supplier, Merck in mid-April agreed to acquire US Versum Materials for a cash price of $53 per share. The pact was sealed after the company raised its bid from the $48 per share originally offered, and the Arizona-based subsidiary of Air Products and Chemicals terminated its agreement to be bought by Entegris.