Bidding to up its game in the antibody business, the U.K.'s Abcam has snapped up California-based Epitomics for $155 million. Epitomics, which has a big presence in China, offers rabbit monoclonal antibody tech--RabMAbs--to developers looking for new mAb therapies.
For Abcam, the buyout brings in an organization of 250 employees, with 80 based in San Francisco and 170 in China. In addition to its antibody work, the life sciences company also does work in reagents and in vitro diagnostics. And the buyout is expected to pave the way to more global M&A deals on Abcam's part.
"These are exciting times for Abcam as we continue to source new products to add to our catalogue whilst also searching for M&A opportunities," said CEO Jonathan Milner. "We are delighted to have announced the agreement to acquire Epitomics International Inc., which marks a gigantic step towards our ambition of creating the world's leading life science reagents company."
The buyout is being carried out with a mix of cash and shares. Abcam lined up a credit facility to complete the transaction.
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