German pharmaceuticals and chemicals group Merck KGaA (XTRA:MRK) does not plan major acquisitions in its pharma business as it seeks to keep its operations diversified, CEO Belen Garijo said at the International Club of Frankfurt Economic Journalists (ICFW), as cited by Reuters. Instead, the company will focus on smaller technology deals and the in-licensing of new experimental drugs. Merck currently operates in three segments - healthcare, life science and electronics.

According to Garijo, the strength of the company is in its diversification and the founding family supports the strategy. Merck reported sales of EUR 5.29 billion (USD 5.65 billion) in the first quarter of 2023, of which the healthcare business generated EUR 1.9 billion, the life science operations delivered EUR 2.49 billion and the electronics brought EUR 901 million.