NEW YORK — Berkeley Lights said Wednesday that it plans to acquire proteomics firm IsoPlexis and, following the acquisition, rename the combined company PhenomeX.
The purchase will be an all-stock deal valued at $57.8 million in which IsoPlexis shareholders will receive 0.612 shares of Berkeley Lights stock for each IsoPlexis share.
Following the close of the transaction, Berkeley Lights shareholders will own approximately 75.2 percent of the combined company, and IsoPlexis shareholders will own approximately 24.8 percent of the combined company. The deal is expected to close in Q1 2023, after which the new company will list on the Nasdaq under the symbol CELL.
Berkeley Lights CEO Siddhartha Kadia will serve as CEO of PhenomeX and a member of the company's board of directors. IsoPlexis CEO Sean Mackay will become chief product officer.
The combined company will specialize in functional cell biology with live-cell research tools.
Both companies struggled throughout 2022. In August, Emeryville, California-based Berkeley Lights laid off 12 percent of its workforce as part of a restructuring process.
In April, Branford, Connecticut-based IsoPlexis cut 20 percent of its workforce as part of a restructuring aimed at extending its cash runway into the second half of 2024.
In a note to investors, Cowen analyst Steven Mah said the deal could help Berkeley Lights penetrate the academic market, where the high prices of its instruments have been a barrier, and added that IsoPlexis' consumables-driven business model fits with Berkeley Lights' ongoing shift toward increasing recurring revenues.