Affymetrix, Inc., (NASDAQ:AFFX) and eBioscience, Inc., a privately-held
San Diego, CA-based company with an industry-leading position in flow
cytometry and immunoassay reagents for immunology and oncology research
and diagnostics, today announced they have amended their existing
definitive agreement dated November 29, 2011 under which Affymetrix will
acquire eBioscience. Under the terms of the amended agreement,
Affymetrix will acquire eBioscience for $315 million in cash subject to
usual adjustments. The transaction remains subject to customary closing
conditions and is now expected to close late in the quarter ending June
30, 2012.
As previously announced, Affymetrix expects the acquisition of
eBioscience to:
-
Create significant new commercial opportunities in the key
post-genomic applications of immunology, oncology, cell biology, stem
cell biology, and diagnostics
-
Diversify the Company's revenues and complement its genomics franchise
-
Augment the Company's growing business in diagnostics
-
Expand the Company's product portfolio to include multicolor flow
cytometry reagents and a broad spectrum of reagents for the analysis
of cytokines, growth factors and other soluble proteins
-
Enhance the operational and new product opportunities for Panomics RNA
and protein analysis products
-
Leverage the commercial capabilities of both companies to generate new
opportunities for growth
"The feedback from our customers, shareholders and partners has been
consistently positive since we announced our original agreement with
eBioscience last November," said Dr. Frank Witney, president and chief
executive officer of Affymetrix. "By amending the transaction, we are
now able to realize the benefits of combining with eBioscience with
significantly less senior secured debt than under the original
agreement. With eBioscience, Affymetrix will expand its addressable
markets by adding an industry-leading portfolio of cell-based and
immunoassays. These new products are a critical part of our customers'
workflow in our key target markets of translational medicine, oncology,
and immunology. We believe that these markets represent a nearly $3
billion annual opportunity, which will put Affymetrix on a solid path to
sustained growth and profitability.