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Mergers and Acquisitions

Date: 2017-07-27

Type of information: Company acquisition

Acquired company: GATC Biotech (Germany)

Acquiring company: Eurofins Scientific (Luxembourg)

Amount: undisclosed

Terms:

  • • On July 27, 2017, Eurofins Scientific announced that it has closed the acquisition of GATC Biotech. This transaction comprises the acquisition of 62.63% of the shares owned by GATC in LifeCodexx, one of Europe’s specialists in non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT). “Together with GATC, the acquisition of LifeCodexx will complement Eurofins technological portfolio in genomic services with unique low cost qPCR-based NIPT capabilities" said  Dr. Gilles Martin, Eurofins CEO. • On June 2, 2017, Eurofins Scientific announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire GATC Biotech , one of Europe’s specialists in DNA sequencing. The transaction is expected to close in July, subject to the fulfilment of customary closing conditions. The acquisition should therefore further reinforce Eurofins' footprint in DNA sequencing, and strengthen the Group's technological platform supporting its genetic testing innovations.

Details:

  • Founded in 1990, GATC has achieved a strong recognition for DNA and RNA sequencing, as well as bioinformatics in Europe. The company employs 140 staff across 2 sites, and serves over 10,000 institutional and academic customers, generating annual revenues of about € 20m. As one of the larger players in Custom and Next Generation Sequencing, GATC has built a reputation for innovative, internally-developed applications, as well as industry-leading turn-around time (TAT).
  • Eurofins is developing its offer in non-invasive prenatal testing. As Europe’s first NIPT provider, LifeCodexx, headquartered in Constance, Germany, has been developing innovative and clinically validated non-invasive diagnostic tests based on the newest molecular analytical methods since 2010. With the PrenaTest®, Europe’s first non-invasive prenatal test for the determination of the most common chromosomal disorders in unborn children, launched in 2012, LifeCodexx has been changing prenatal diagnostics considerably. PrenaTest® is currently available in around 50 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Moreover, LifeCodexx successfully transferred its NIPT technology based on next generation sequencing to several partners in Germany and Switzerland, and continues to promote technology transfers to partners in other countries. Following a positive CE marking, LifeCodexx is currently in the middle of rolling-out its new, low cost qPCR-based solution for trisomy 21 analysis. The company generated revenues of about € 7m in 2016.

Related: Technology - Services

Is general: Yes