--- title: 'Manufacturing Daily Summary: What Happened on November 3, 2026' headline: Lonza expands US footprint with Merck KGaA plant deal description: The acquisition would add 1,100 employees and increase Lonza’s US manufacturing locations from four to nine. Closing is expected around mid-2027. url: https://thebench.bio/news/manufacturing/2026-11-03 topic: manufacturing date: '2026-11-03' covers: - '2026-11-03' date_published: '2026-11-03T12:02:29Z' date_modified: '2026-11-03T12:02:29Z' tags: - Funding sources: 1 publisher: TheBench.Bio --- # Manufacturing Daily Summary: What Happened on November 3, 2026 **Lonza expands US footprint with Merck KGaA plant deal** The acquisition would add 1,100 employees and increase Lonza’s US manufacturing locations from four to nine. Closing is expected around mid-2027. ## Today in brief Lonza agreed to acquire five US contract manufacturing facilities from Merck KGaA, at an enterprise valuation in the low-to-mid hundreds of millions of Swiss francs. [1] The deal would bring 1,100 employees to Lonza and expand its US manufacturing network to nine locations from four. [1] ## Five sites cover biologics and drug delivery The St. Louis facility specializes in bioconjugates, and two Wisconsin sites make high-potency payload-linkers. [1] The Carlsbad, California, site provides viral-vector services and aseptic fill-finish. Indianapolis handles lipid nanoparticles, liposomes and PEGylated proteins, with aseptic fill-finish capacity. [1] Lonza expects the facilities to generate about SFr250 million in sales in 2028, with a core EBITDA margin below its overall level. [1] Lonza will pay with available cash and existing credit facilities. [1] The businesses will operate separately until closing as the companies work on a transition. [1] The companies expect the deal to close around mid-2027, subject to customary conditions. [1] ## The day in numbers - **5 sites**: US manufacturing facilities Lonza agreed to acquire [1] - **1,100**: Employees expected to join Lonza [1] - **SFr250 million**: Projected sales from the facilities in 2028 [1] ## Also published - [Merck charts course out of CDMO business with Lonza sale](), pharmaphorum ## Sources 1. [Lonza to acquire five US manufacturing sites from Merck KGaA](), Pharmaceutical Technology, 2026-11-03 --- TheBench.Bio wrote this from the reporting cited above, with a language model drafting and editing. [1]: