Bruker Announces Agreement to Acquire Michrom

In particular, Michrom recently has launched the novel Advance™ nanoflow ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) system and proprietary CaptiveSpray™ Ionization (CSI) sources for coupling to mass spectrometry (MS) in proteomics and other life-science applications.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed, and the closing is expected within weeks. Michrom's revenue was approximately $3 million in 2010. Bruker intends to retain all of Michrom's employees, and Michrom's founder and president, Mr. Kerry Nugent, is expected to join Bruker as 'Senior Vice President - Liquid Chromatography'.

In commenting on the agreement, Mr. Collin D'Silva, president of Bruker's Chemical & Applied Markets division, said: "Michrom's broad portfolio of novel technologies and high-performance products is highly complementary to our mass spectrometry products. In particular, Michrom's new high duty-cycle nanoflow UHPLC platform, along with their revolutionary CaptiveSpray™ LC-MS interface, together will provide our customers with significant gains in throughput, sensitivity and robustness for proteomics and other nano and capillary flow LC-MS applications."

Michrom's president Kerry Nugent expects the transaction to make Michrom's products more widely available to global customers seeking these key novel technologies.

He commented: "With Bruker's Fremont, California manufacturing infrastructure and well-developed global distribution channels, we will be able to make greater strides to provide customers with advanced analytical solutions that embody technologies based on our expertise in biochemistry and micro-fluidics. I am very excited that the significant potential of our new technologies is now closer to being realized by more discerning customers."