20/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 18 December, the European Commission gave the go-ahead to the acquisition of sole control of Serono S.A. of Switzerland by Merck KGaA (Merck) of Germany, by way of purchase of shares. Merck is a global research-based pharmaceutical and chemical company. Serono is a research-driven global biotechnology company. The operation was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. (ol)