NEW YORK – Bruker said on Thursday that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire PhenomeX for $108 million in cash.
Under the terms of the deal, Bruker will acquire shares of PhenomeX for $1.00 per share in a transaction expected to close in the fourth quarter. The offer price represents a 150 percent premium on the shares, which closed Wednesday at $.40. Perella Weinberg Partners acted as financial adviser for Bruker with Morgan Lewis as legal adviser. William Blair acted as financial adviser for PhenomeX with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer as legal adviser.
"The unique single-cell analysis platforms of PhenomeX are enabling researchers to more rapidly and precisely unlock new insights in functional cell biology research leading to important discoveries across the large and rapidly growing markets of antibody therapeutics, cell line development, cell therapy, and gene therapy," Mark Munch, president of Bruker Nano Group, said in a statement. "This acquisition will mark Bruker's entry into single-cell biology research tools, which complements Bruker's emerging spatial biology business."
PhenomeX was formed earlier this year when cell analysis firm Berkeley Lights closed its acquisition of proteomics firm IsoPlexis for $57.8 million in stock. In Q1, the firm reported revenues of $18.5 million, down 8 percent year over year. Berkeley Lights went public in July 2020 for $22 per share, raising $178.2 million.
Bruker ended its second quarter with $574.8 million in cash and cash equivalents.
In Thursday morning trading on the Nasdaq, shares of Bruker were down 2 percent at $64.45.