Merck Animal Health to Acquire TARGAN

Merck Animal Health, known as MSD Animal Health outside of the United States and Canada, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA (NYSE:MRK), today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire TARGAN, a privately held innovator in developing and commercializing biodevice solutions to improve performance outcomes for the poultry industry, for an undisclosed purchase price. Merck Animal Health has invested in TARGAN since 2017 and has been one of the company’s largest shareholders.

The proposed acquisition is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2026, subject to approvals from applicable regulatory authorities and other customary closing conditions.

“The acquisition of TARGAN’s best-in-class biodevice technology for use in commercial hatcheries complements and accelerates our growing biopharmaceutical presence in poultry and increases our ability to deliver significant customer value globally,” said Rick DeLuca, president, Merck Animal Health. “Additionally, TARGAN brings device development capabilities that will further strengthen our ability to provide animal health solutions across species. This transaction, coupled with our commercial and scientific expertise, is another example of how we deliver meaningful innovation to our customers while creating new opportunities for the future.”

Upon closing, the acquisition is expected to broaden Merck Animal Health’s portfolio in commercial poultry operations with WingScan, an automated solution that uses vision technology to identify and sort chicks by gender, processing up to 160,000 chicks per hour. The technology, which can scale to any size hatchery operation, captures high-resolution images of each chick’s feathers and analyzes them in real-time using advanced engineering capabilities and proprietary algorithms.

This acquisition also brings the capability for a high-speed precision ocular spray technology, which administers respiratory and coccidiosis vaccines, among others, to day-old chicks. Additionally, TARGAN has the potential to develop additional biodevices within poultry and other livestock species, which may shape the next frontier in the animal health industry.

TARGAN Founder and CEO Ramin Karimpour said, “Merck Animal Health has been a foundational partner of TARGAN since our inception through its belief and commitment to scientific excellence and a common goal of bringing technological innovation to the livestock industry. Through this proposed acquisition, TARGAN will be able to access resources and infrastructure of Merck Animal Health, which will be critical in deploying TARGAN’s innovative biodevice technology along with their broad portfolio of poultry vaccines for customers. Many colleagues over the years have made valuable contributions to the growth of our business, including our employees, venture capital investors and debt finance providers.”

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