PerkinElmer To Acquire Evotec Technologies
Hamburg, Germany and Oxford, UK - Evotec AG recently announced that PerkinElmer Inc. signed a definitive agreement to acquire Evotec Technologies GmbH in a cash transaction valued at approximately EUR 23 million. Evotec Technologies is a majority owned subsidiary of Evotec AG, which provides systems for confocal imaging, cell handling, ultra-High Throughput Screening (uHTS) as well as image capture and cellular analysis software. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions and closing is expected to occur late December 2006 or early 2007. Evotec Technologies will be deconsolidated from Evotec's financial statements as of 01.01.2007.
"With its sophisticated product portfolio and its strong customer base Evotec Technologies has grown into a position of strength. To bring the company to the next level of its development, a partnership with a global provider of instrumentation and consumables became paramount. We believe that PerkinElmer is best positioned to leverage Evotec Technologies' full potential," said Joern Aldag, CEO of Evotec AG. "This transaction is another milestone in our strategy to focus Evotec on its drug discovery and development business. Together with the sale of certain technology assets of Evotec Technologies to Olympus earlier in the year, the combined divestments value Evotec Technologies at approximately EUR 30 million. The cash proceeds will provide us with additional flexibility to progress and expand our Central Nervous System pipeline."
"Over the past years we have positioned Evotec Technologies to become the premium international supplier of tools and technologies for modern cellular research. Our cutting edge cell analysis, automation and software solutions are the foundation of our leading position in this market segment," commented Prof Carsten Claussen, CEO of Evotec Technologies GmbH. "This is the time to exploit our potential as part of a larger entity with a significantly broader sales force, portfolio strategy and R&D resources. We look forward to becoming the Center for Cellular Sciences in Hamburg within the PerkinElmer group."
Evotec Technologies' high-performance HCS instruments and image analysis software help pharmaceutical, biotechnology and academic researchers automate cell screening and analysis for drug discovery. Included in the company's portfolio is the Opera™ HCS platform, a premier tool for high content analysis that combines the precision of confocal microscopy with the throughput required for primary and secondary screening. This technology is intended to enable researchers to move drug candidates more quickly and confidently through preclinical and clinical phases.
"Our customers today require unique, flexible tools and platforms that produce better quality and biologically relevant data for mapping cellular events to new discoveries," said Gregory L. Summe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PerkinElmer, Inc. "Evotec Technologies' strong product portfolio - combined with PerkinElmer's global distribution capabilities, service and support – will help our customers speed target validation and lead optimisation along the drug discovery value chain."
SOURCE: Evotec AG