- Acquisition of leading protein conjugation technologies and products with wellknown industry brands, including Lightning-Link® and CaptSureTM
- Complementary to Abcam’s existing antibody and multiplex growth strategy, with high customer overlap
- Acquisition expected to be accretive from the first full year of ownership (FY21)1 and to deliver a ROIC (pretax) ahead of the Group’s WACC by the third full year of ownership (FY23)
Abcam plc (AIM LSE: ABC), a global leader in the supply of life science research tools, today announces that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Expedeon Ltd, Innova Biosciences Ltd. and TGR BioSciences (the “Proteomics and Immunology business”) from Expedeon AG (“Expedeon”) for a cash consideration of €120 million (the “Acquisition”).
Background to and reasons for the Acquisition
Protein labeling is a large, growing market – essential to biological research in proteomics. Proteomics research requires the use of molecular labels that are covalently attached to a protein of interest to facilitate detection or purification of the protein or its binding partners. The Acquisition represents a compelling strategic fit for Abcam:
- Accelerates Abcam’s strategic ambition within the complementary antibody conjugation and labeling market, where there is high customer overlap
- Expands Abcam’s addressable market by leveraging Expedeon’s technologies in conjugation with Abcam’s deep expertise and experience in customer service, digital marketing and sales
- Provides opportunity to combine Expedeon and Abcam’s technologies to create new valueadded products to support customer needs
Principal terms and financial effects of the Acquisition
- Proposed acquisition of Expedeon’s Proteomics and Immunology business for a cash consideration of €120 million on a cash-free / debt-free basis
- Acquisition to be funded from a drawdown of the Group’s Revolving Credit Facility and existing cash resources Acquisition subject to approval by Expedeon shareholders at a general meeting to be held on December 19, 2019. If approved by Expedeon shareholders, the Acquisition is expected to close in early 2020 The proposed transaction results in the acquisition of substantially all the revenues, profits and assets of Expedeon. The most recently audited results of Expedeon, for the 12 months ended December 31, 2018, were revenues of €13.1m (£11.3m), adjusted EBITDA of €1.0m (£0.9m) and Net assets of €46.5m (£40.0m)2
- The Acquisition is expected to be neutral to Abcam’s adjusted earnings in the current financial year (FY20) and accretive from the first full year of ownership (FY21)1. The Acquisition is expected to deliver a ROIC (pretax) ahead of the Group’s Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) by the third full year of ownership (FY23)
Alan Hirzel, CEO of Abcam, commented: “Abcam’s growth strategy is committed to building out conjugation and assay capabilities. Expedeon’s portfolio of products and technology, combined with Abcam’s antibody and protein strengths, will put our company in a strong position to address the growing need for antibody conjugation and multiplexing solutions. We look forward to taking these innovation capabilities to market to provide a broader array of distinctive products for our customers.”
Analyst and Investor Conference Call A conference call for analysts and investors will be held at 1400 GMT / 0900 EST, today. To participate in this call, please contact Mary Whittow at FTI Consulting (Mary.Whittow@fticonsulting.com / +44 (0)20 3327 1366) for dial-in details.
1. Before acquisition and integration related costs 2. Based on an average EUR:GBP exchange rate of 1.16:1
Ondra LLP provided advice to the Board of Directors of Abcam in relation to this transaction.
For further information, please contact: Abcam + 44 (0) 1223 696 000 Alan Hirzel, Chief Executive Officer Gavin Wood, Chief Financial Officer James Staveley, VP Investor Relations J.P. Morgan Cazenove – Nominated Advisor and Joint Corporate Broker +44 (0) 20 7742 4000 James Mitford / Hemant Kapoor
Numis – Joint Corporate Broker +44 (0) 20 7260 1000 Garry Levin / Duncan Monteith
FTI Consulting (Media enquiries) +44 (0) 20 3727 1000 Ben Atwell / Brett Pollard / Natalie Garland-Collins