Shareholder structure Audited

Transparency and proximity to shareholders

Maintaining a timely and continuous dialog with shareholders is very important to Merck. We therefore reported not only on our quarterly and annual financial results, but also on the latest developments in the company.

In 2009, the Executive Board and the Investor Relations team held road shows for existing and potential institutional investors at the major financial centers in Europe, North America and Asia, and reported on the latest company developments. In addition, Merck held presentations at ten investor conferences in Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg, Munich, New York, and Paris.

At our Investor Relations stand at the 2009 Annual General Meeting, we addressed questions, most of which were posed by private investors. At 59%, the share capital represented at this Annual General Meeting was the highest recorded to date.

Identified investors by region

Increase in the number of investors based in the United States

Within the scope of the shareholder identification survey conducted in September 2009, we identified around 87% of the bearer shares in free float held by institutional investors. The survey provides information about the regional distribution of the institutional investors as well as the classification of the respective institutional investor types. As in 2008, U.S. institutional investors hold the majority of Merck shares in free float. The share of U.S. investors increased from 45% in 2008 to 53% in 2009. Thus, the United States still ranks well ahead of the United Kingdom and Germany, where 11% and 9% of our shares are held, respectively. In the breakdown by investor type, the share of value investors grew from 23% in 2008 to 30%.

Identified investors by type