Agilent Sends Letter to the SEC Regarding Material Misstatements in Twist Bioscience’s S-1 Registration Statement

Agilent Sends Letter to the SEC Regarding Material Misstatements in Twist Bioscience’s S-1 Registration Statement

SANTA CLARA, Calif., October 29, 2018

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced that it sent a letter to the Division of Corporation Finance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding misstatements in the S-1 Registration Statement filed by Twist Bioscience Corp.

The letter informs the SEC that “Twist’s S-1 Fails to Disclose that Twist CEO Emily Leproust Formed Twist While an Employee at Agilent, and Became its CEO 17 Months Prior to Resigning from Agilent.”  The letter also informs the SEC that “Twist’s S-1 Fails to Disclose the Material Fact that its CEO Emily Leproust and Other Twist Employees Took and Retained Hundreds of Confidential Documents Containing Agilent’s Trade Secrets and Proprietary Information.”

Ms. Leproust admitted under oath that she secretly became Twist’s CEO 17 months prior to leaving Agilent. Agilent’s Proposed Second Amended Complaint (accessible here) describes in detail Agilent’s allegations that during that time, Ms. Leproust raised money to start a competitive company that would misappropriate Agilent’s innovations of the past 20 years, poach Agilent’s employees, and compete in the same markets with the same basic technology—all while owing a statutory duty of loyalty to Agilent.

The full text of Agilent’s letter to the SEC is available here.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is a global leader in life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets. With more than 50 years of insight and innovation, Agilent instruments, software, services, solutions, and people provide trusted answers to customers’ most challenging questions. The company generated revenues of $4.47 billion in fiscal 2017 and employs 14,500 people worldwide. Information about Agilent is available at www.agilent.com.