NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Accelrys and Symyx Technologies today said that they have reached an agreement to merge the two firms.
The two scientific informatics firms said that the all-stock, merger of equals would result in shareholders of each company owning 50 percent of the merged entity. The company will have a combined market capitalization of around $335 million and cash reserves of around $150 million, with no debt. The firms also said that they expect full-year net synergies of between $10 million and $15 million.
Under the terms of the pact, Symyx shareholders will receive .7802 shares of Accelrys common stock for each share of Symyx held.
Max Carnecchia, CEO of Accelrys, will serve as CEO of the combined company, which will be based at Accelrys' current headquarters in San Diego. The firms did not say if Symyx's offices in Santa Clara, Calif., would remain open.
"The merger of Accelrys and Symyx creates a differentiated company that is uniquely qualified to advance the state of the scientific informatics software industry," Isy Goldwasser, CEO of Symyx, who will serve in a transitional role in the combined company, said in a statement. "No other company combines our deep domain knowledge in chemistry, biology and materials science, enterprise software capabilities (in scientific data management, decision support and analytics), professional expert services, and a broad choice of partners."
The combined firm's customer base includes 29 of the top 30 biopharmaceutical firms, the top five chemical companies, and three of the top five packaged consumer goods firms, the companies said.
Accelrys had 2009 revenues of approximately $81 million, while Symyx's software business unit had revenues of roughly $88.6 million. The combined firm will have around 700 employees.
The partners expect to complete the deal by the end of June, subject to customary closing conditions, as well as shareholder and regulatory approvals.