BioMérieux closes BioFire Diagnostics deal for $450M plus debt

French diagnostics giant bioMérieux finalized its acquisition of U.S.-based BioFire Diagnostics on Thursday. Under the agreement, bioMérieux will pay $450 million and will also assume BioFire's net financial debt, which is estimated at $35 million.

First announced on Sept. 3, 2013, the deal follows a rapid period of growth for BioFire. The 20-year-old company--previously known as Idaho Technologies--recently developed FilmArray, an FDA-cleared, CE-marked PCR technology that combines multiple molecular diagnostic steps into one system. BioFire also doubled its workforce after receiving a $25 million tax credit from the state of Utah, where its headquarters are based. The company plans to grow its workforce in the coming years, and has diagnostic tests in the pipeline for sepsis, diarrhea, meningitis and pneumonia.

BioFire's expansion efforts caught the eye of bioMérieux, who wanted to develop its infectious disease diagnostics franchise. BioMérieux will add FilmArray to its portfolio and will help offset manufacturing costs by expediting reagent production, according to a statement released by the company. BioFire's site will become bioMérieux's U.S. hub for molecular biology, and both companies will contribute to R&D.

However, BioFire will retain its name and senior management as part of the agreement.

"They are committed to leaving us the way we are going and supporting us," Eric Gorrell, BioFire's general counsel and head of investor relations, told FierceDiagnostics in September. "We will become their hub, the center of excellence for molecular biology for the entire bioMérieux family."

BioFire's revenue should increase bioMérieux's sales by $80 million in 2014, the company said in a statement. The acquisition is expected to have a dilutive effect on current operating income before non-recurring items in 2014 and 2015.

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