SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—Fluidigm Corporation has announced the establishment of a definitive agreement to acquire Sunnyvale, Calif.-based DVS Sciences, Inc., an analytical equipment and reagents development company, for approximately $207.5 million. The acquisition consideration will consist of Fluidigm common stock and cash, the latter of which will be funded primarily by the proceeds from a proposed convertible notes offering. The transaction is expected to close in February, pending customary closing conditions.
“We have long been interested in companies whose technologies are directly in-line with our strategy, have strong top-line growth and whose management teams fit Fluidigm culturally and would be committed to the success of the combined enterprise. We waited for the perfect fit and believe we have found such a gem with DVS Sciences,” Gajus Worthington, president and CEO of Fluidigm, said in a press release. “DVS’ mass cytometry technology combines the advantages of high-throughput flow cytometry with the accuracy and resolution of mass spectrometry, enabling high-parameter single-cell protein analysis. We believe the acquisition of DVS will increase Fluidigm’s single-cell revenue immediately, as well as increase our addressable market to include the approximately $300 million high-end research flow cytometry segment. It also expands our analytical breadth to include single-cell protein analysis.”
“The merger of DVS with Fluidigm will provide exciting new product synergies around single-cell analysis for our customers as well as increased support networks and a wider reach into new markets,” Joe Victor, president and CEO of DVS, commented in a statement. “DVS is excited to be able to have the opportunity to jointly develop with Fluidigm new technologies, products and applications for our target life-sciences markets.”
DVS’ offerings include cell labeling, panel kits, reagents and metal conjugated antibodies, among others, with its most well known offerings consisting of its multi-parameter single-cell protein analysis systems, such as the CyTOF Mass Cytometer. The system analyzes antibody-metal complexes through atomic mass spectrometry and enables high-parameter single-cell protein analysis in biological research.
“At DVS, our goal has been to accelerate life sciences research and transform drug discovery via high-parameter bio-analysis. Early on we recognized that studying biology at the single-cell level provides new and important scientific insight. Researchers increasingly need high dimensional, single-cell analysis. The combination of DVS’s technology for protein analysis and Fluidigm’s technology for nucleic acid analysis provides researchers with solutions that could transform single-cell analysis for life sciences research, drug development, and potentially diagnostics,” said Dr. Scott Tanner, DVS’ chief technology officer and co-founder. “We are delighted to join Fluidigm to champion the power of single-cell analysis and help pave the way for future breakthrough discoveries in biology.”
Once the transaction is finalized, DVS will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Fluidigm. In addition, several persons from DVS’ management, operations and research and development teams will join Fluidigm following the closing of the merger, including co-founders Tanner, Dmitry Bandura and Vladimir Baranov.
Fluidigm brought on Piper Jaffray & Co. as its exclusive financial advisor for this transaction, with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati P.C. providing legal counsel. DVS enlisted Jefferies LLC as its exclusive financial advisor and Latham & Watkins LLP as its legal counsel.
SOURCE: Fluidigm press release
