NEW YORK, Dec. 26 (GenomeWeb News) -- Carlsbad, Calif.-based Invitrogen announced Wednesday that it will acquire BioReliance, a contract service organization based in Rockville, Md., in a transaction valued at $500 million.
The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is expected to close, subject to regulatory and stockholder approvals, as well as other closing conditions, near the end of the first quarter of 2004, the company said in a statement.
After the close of the deal, which includes Invitrogen's assumption of $70 million in debt, BioReliance will become a part of Invitrogen's bioproduction business segment and, retaining its name, will focus both on its current line of services and on new developments that draw on both services and technology needed to improve drug development.
Invitrogen is pursuing an aggresssive strategy of acquisitions, with over $1 billion cash on hand for acquisitions and other investments, Greg Lucier, the company's chief executive officer, told GenomeWeb earlier this month.