AMG has a portfolio of imaging instruments that ranges frombasic to advanced microscopy. The EVOS line, notably, has in part been designedto improve ease of use by eliminating conventional eyepieces and replacing themwith LCD screens. Two entry-level microscopes, EVOS XL and EVOS XL-Core,address the tissue culture market for routine monitoring of cell culturethrough measurements of cell density and morphology. The instruments arebrightfield- and phase contrast-enabled and come with a range of magnificationlens options. The EVOS FL, for its part, is a multicolor fluorescent microscopewith brightfield/phase contrast capabilities and a range of objective options,Life notes.
"Ultimately, it is our customers who will benefit most fromthe breadth of the combined portfolios. It also uniquely positions Life in thecell imaging field and will serve as the foundation for the development of newapplications and products," said Steve Lytle, founder and president of AMG, ofthe deal when it was first announced.
Life also stands to benefit a great deal, given estimatesthat the microscopy market will soon be approximately $770 million, but thepayoff for Life is more than that, Williams tells
ddn.
"What we're doing as a business is shifting from morereagents-only play to systems play," he explains. "In part, that will driveconsumption of high-value reagents. But more than that, we've released fourbenchtop instruments in the past three years and created a space in the marketthat largely didn't exist. We have a philosophy of democratizing the benchtopspace, and we don't see why reagents, instruments or the interfaces on thoseinstruments should be overly complex. We want to make imaging easier."
The acquisition of AMG is expected to be neutral to Life's2012 earnings, accretive to 2013 earnings and accretive to the company'soverall return on invested capital by 2015.
AMG's existing business will remain in Bothell, Wash., andwill join Life's Flow Cytometry and Imaging business unit.
"We're really looking to add to our portfolio," Williams says. "We'regoing to keep the site and the people where they are because it's a productinnovation-based team and that very much complements our strategy. Around 20 percentof our revenue right now comes from products released in the last three years.We strive for product innovation excellence and that's something the folks atAMG can deliver for us."
