QIAGEN Signs Agreement for the Acquisition of eGene
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QIAGEN N.V. has announced, that its subsidiary QIAGEN North American Holdings, Inc. has signed a definitive merger agreement with eGene, Inc. pursuant to which eGene would become a fully owned subsidiary of QIAGEN North American Holdings, Inc.
eGene is an early-stage company located in Irvine, California, that has developed and is commercializing a patented sample separation and analysis technology based on capillary electrophoresis.
The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is expected to close, subject to regulatory and stockholder approvals and customary closing conditions in the third quarter of 2007.
eGene has developed a multi-channel sample separation and analysis technology for nucleic acids that includes an robust instrument, software analysis package, and a selection of consumable cartridges specifically designed for specific high value applications in the molecular diagnostic and research markets.
The HDA-GT12™ Genetic Analyzer is a revolutionary multi-capillary system which incorporates many capabilities into one easy to use platform, integrating automatic sample loading, separation, and data analysis.
Currently, eGene's consumable cartridges are available for a number of research applications, including formats addressing the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) testing market, genetic testing including microsatellite analyses, DNA post-PCR separation and analysis at different resolutions, and RNA integrity quality control. eGene's product offering is therefore highly synergistic with QIAGEN's sample and assay technologies.
"The eGene solutions leverage and seamlessly combine with QIAGEN sample and assay technologies and create novel and highly attractive molecular diagnostics solutions to our customers in research in clinical research, applied testing and molecular diagnostics" Peer M. Schatz continued.
"QIAGEN provides a comprehensive direct-sales and service channel as well as a complete and complementary product portfolio to increase the value for customers in these market segments."
Under the terms of the agreement, QIAGEN North American Holdings, Inc. will offer $0.65 in cash and 0.0416 common shares of QIAGEN stock per share of eGene stock. The aggregate purchase consideration amounts to approximately $34.0 million (based on the average closing prices of QIAGEN stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market for the 20 trading days ending on April 12, 2007).
Based on preliminary analyses and assuming the transaction closes early in the third quarter of 2007, QIAGEN expects this transaction to contribute approximately US$2 million in sales in the second half of 2007 and roughly US$7-$9 million in sales for the full year of 2008.
