FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J.—Becton, Dickinson and Co. (BD) announced last month that it has signed an agreement to sell the Clontech operation, a unit of the company's BD Biosciences division, to Otsu, Japan-based Takara Bio.
The intention to sell Clontech was previously announced on October 4, 2004. The final sale, which is expected to be for $60 million, is still subject to regulatory approvals but was expected to clear this month. The purchase will be made through a wholly-owned subsidiary of Takara Bio that is to be established in the United States.
The sale doesn't seem to represent any need for cash on BD's part, however. BD recently reported record quarterly revenues of just over $1.38 billion for the third fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2005, representing an increase of 11 percent over the prior year period.
"The plan to sell Clontech is a result of BD Biosciences' decision to focus its strategy on cell analysis, discovery labware and its new platforms of imaging and in vitro drug metabolism/toxicity testing," explains Edward J. Ludwig, chairman, president and chief executive officer of BD. "This also allows us to direct our resources toward higher-growth opportunities in the pharmaceutical drug discovery arena."
Takara Bio has indicated that it expects to gain the following synergies from the acquisition of Clontech: product line expansion, increased European and U.S. sales activity, and enhancement of its research and development program.
BD is a medical technology company that serves healthcare institutions, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, industry, and the general public. BD manufactures and sells a broad range of medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products. Clontech's products are used in the areas of gene identification, gene expression and gene functional analysis.
Clontech's reported annual revenues for fiscal year 2004 were the same as the expected purchase price of the operation—$60 million—which is only a small fraction of BD's reported total fiscal 2004 revenues of more than $4.9 billion.
Takara Bio, which started as a manufacturer and supplier of restriction enzymes in 1979 in Japan, was reportedly the first company to introduce PCR-related products in Japan.
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