Sartorius closes acquisition of selected assets of Danaher Life Sciences

Credit: Sartorius

Sartorius, a leading international partner of life science research and the biopharmaceutical industry, successfully closed the acquisition of selected life science businesses of Danaher Corporation. The transaction was completed on 30 April 2020, after receiving the required regulatory approvals.

“The acquisition of this portfolio is a further milestone for Sartorius. The assets we purchased are an excellent strategic and operational fit with both our divisions. We are very pleased to welcome approximately 300 new Sartorius employees and to combine our expertise to become even more relevant together for our biopharma and life science customers,” said Sartorius Executive Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dr Joachim Kreuzburg. Sartorius paid a purchase price of $825 million for the acquisition and, upon execution of the purchase agreement on 19 October 2019, has been preparing for integration of the acquired businesses into the two divisions of the Sartorius Group. Despite the special conditions prevailing during the pandemic crisis, integration can therefore be initiated immediately following the closing.

The businesses acquired by Sartorius generated revenue of approximately $170 million in 2019 and cover various laboratory and bioprocessing technologies, which are complementary to the portfolio lineups of both Sartorius divisions. The company’s broader offering as a result of the acquisition will support customers even more comprehensively in the development of biotech medicines and vaccines, as well as in the safe and efficient production of such pharmaceuticals. Sartorius is thus extending its market position in bioanalytics as well as in key areas of the manufacture of biotech medications.

The FortéBio business for label-free biomolecular characterisation includes innovative protein analysis instruments, biosensors and reagents that are used in drug discovery and will be integrated into the Bioanalytics unit within the Sartorius Lab Products & Services Division. The products are based on patented biolayer interferometry technology and perform real-time analysis of various biomolecular interactions. FortéBio employs approximately 200 people worldwide, has production sites in Fremont, California, US and Shanghai, China and accounts for close to half of the revenue generated by the acquired businesses.

With the chromatography systems and resins business also acquired, Sartorius is expanding the portfolio of its Bioprocess Solutions Division in the downstream processing area. This business addresses an essential step in the purification of biopharmaceuticals and encompasses both reusable and single-use equipment, columns and resins. Furthermore selected product groups in the areas of stainless steel hollow fibre and single-use technology tangential flow filtration systems and single-use flow kits will additionally strengthen the division’s portfolio lineup in downstream processing. A further asset to be allocated to the Bioprocess Solutions Division is the SoloHill business covering microcarrier technology and particle validation standards used in cell cultures and other bioprocesses. Together, these various business entities employ approximately 100 people at their sites in Portsmouth, UK; Cergy, France; Ann Arbor, Michigan, US; and Hopkinton, Massachusetts, US.

Sartorius already provided information on the impact of this transaction on its financial forecast for the current year in its first-quarter earnings release of 21 April 2020. You will find this publication here.