Luxembourg-based Eurofins Scientific ($EUFI) agreed to buy Boston Heart Diagnostics, an advanced diagnostics provider, for $140 million, the company said.
The deal includes an earnout payment to the sellers that is expected to be more than $60 million. Boston Heart is a portfolio company of Bain Capital Ventures. All 350 employees of the Framingham, MA-based company will be retained in the transaction, Eurofins said in a press release.
The sale is set to be completed in the next 60 days, at which time Boston Heart will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Eurofins, which acquired immunodiagnostic company ViraCor-IBT (VIBT) for $255 million earlier this year.
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| Eurofins CEO Gilles Martin |
"Boston Heart provides Eurofins a strong entry in the specialized cardiology diagnostic segment," Gilles Martin, Eurofins' chief executive, said in a statement. "In combination with VIBT, this gives Eurofins an excellent position in two important segments of the specialty diagnostic testing market, thereby significantly enhancing our overall capabilities focusing on preventing life-threatening diseases."
Boston Heart said in September that it and several other cardiovascular diagnostic companies are part of an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services that is looking into allegations that kickbacks were paid to physicians for using diagnostics services. The company has said it is cooperating with investigators.
Eurofins said despite the probe it is confident the purchase will benefit its share prices.
Boston Heart was established 7 years ago and produces advanced diagnostics that test patients for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions. The company, which has processed 450,000 tests from nearly 3,500 clinicians across the country, is forecast to earn over $95 million in revenue in 2014, the Boston Business Journal reported.
In March, Boston Heart released its test for the biomarker myeloperoxidase, which has been shown in studies to predict heart attack or stroke. The diagnostic is part of a range of tests the company has lined up to make a full risk assessment in cardiovascular disease.
- see the announcement