PerkinElmer to acquire Horizon Discovery for $383 Million

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PerkinElmer, Inc. will acquire Horizon Discovery Group plc for an all cash offer of approximately $383 million (£296 million). The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

The investment will allow PerkinElmer to expand its portfolio of automated life sciences discovery and applied genomics solutions to include gene editing and gene modulation tools, as Horizon is a leading provider of CRISPR and RNAi reagents, cell models, cell engineering and base editing offerings.

With the acquisition, PerkinElmer said it will be able to provide tools for exploring next generation cell engineering and customised cell lines for relevant biological models, which it stated are vital for the future of precision medicine.

Within PerkinElmer’s portfolio of discovery and applied genomics solutions are a range of immunoassay platforms, high content screening (HCS) and in vivo imaging, along with microfluidics, robotic liquid handling technologies and next-generation sequencing library preparation kits. By unifying their complementary offerings across the genotypic and phenotypic approaches for drug discovery and development, the companies said they will help researchers accelerate decision making with better information, automated workflows and greater quality and control over data.

Commenting on the agreement, Prahlad Singh, President and Chief Executive Officer of PerkinElmer said: “One of the key fundamentals for molecular research and drug discovery is being able to knock down a gene or function and explore the results to discover actionable insights and new clinical trial candidates faster. We are excited to team up with Horizon to not only add CRISPR and RNAi capabilities into our existing portfolio, but also to leverage our combined life sciences screening and applied genomics solutions to help propel the next phase of cell and gene research for precision medicine.”

Horizon currently has approximately 400 employees across several countries, including the UK (where it is headquartered), the US and Japan. It reported revenue from continuing operations of $75.5 million (£58.3 million) in 2019.