NEW YORK — Biotage said on Wednesday that it has acquired UK-based oligonucleotide producer ATDBio for roughly £45 million ($62.0 million) in cash and stock.
Uppsala, Sweden-based Biotage offers a range of instruments and reagents for drug discovery and development, analytical testing, and water and environmental testing. The acquisition, it said, will help it expand into DNA and RNA oligonucleotide synthesis and purification.
"Starting from peptide purification and higher-volume small molecule research, we have already expanded into lipid purification for use in mRNA vaccines, as well as DNA plasmid purification including viral purification for gene therapy," Biotage CEO Tomas Blomquist said in a statement. "Now we are moving into the attractive new oligonucleotide market."
Biotage said it bought ATDBio for 781,991 newly issued shares worth £16 million and £29 million in cash, with about £5 million of the total purchase price to be paid out after three years. It financed a portion of the deal through a revolving credit facility.
ATDBio had net sales of £3.5 million in 2020 and currently has 20 employees. Biotage, which has roughly 485 employees worldwide, recently reported net sales of SEK 303.5 million ($35.2 million) during the first half of 2021.