NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Bruker said today it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority interest in infectious disease molecular diagnostics firm Hain Lifescience.
According to Bruker, Nehren, Germany-based Hain will add capabilities in tuberculosis and mycobacteria testing, as well as virology and human genetics.
Bruker plans to acquire an 80 percent interest in Hain, with an option for the remaining 20 percent that can be exercised after 2021. Hain projects 2018 revenues of $38 million and is currently profitable, Bruker said. The acquisition is expected to close in Q4 2018. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Among Hain's product are its GenoType assays for tuberculosis detection, for sexually transmitted disease testing, and for HIV viral load testing. The company has also developed a real-time PCR system, called Fluorocycler XT, which has a novel assay format for its Liquid Array-branded syndromic panels. It plans to launch its first Liquid Array assay, FluoroType MTBDR 2.0, a CE-IVD marked test for detecting M. tuberculosis and drug resistances against rifampicin and isoniazid, by the end of the year.
The acquisition is part of a larger effort by Bruker to expand its microbiology offerings beyond its mass spec-based MALDI Biotyper system. Last year the company acquired Hennigsdorf, Germany-based InVivo Biotech Services, which it has used to help develop infectious disease assays including PCR-based syndromic panels.
"With this planned acquisition, we expect to broaden our footprint in molecular diagnostics, particularly in microbiology and virology testing solutions," Bruker President and CEO Frank Laukien said in a statement. "We anticipate that together with Hain we can bring significant innovation to real-time PCR instruments and to next-generation, fast, and affordable Liquid Array syndromic panels."
Bruker said it plans to retain all Hain employees and R&D, manufacturing, and distribution capabilities.
It said it does not expect the acquisition to have a material impact on its 2018 non-GAAP guidance. Bruker expects it will add between $.01 and $.02 per share in non-GAAP EPS in 2019.