Life Technologies to acquire Geneart

Life Technologies has agreed a deal with Geneart which will see the gene synthesis specialist become part of the Life Technologies group.

Geneart founders Professor Dr Ralf Wagner, Professor Dr Hans Wolf and Dr Marcus Graf have agreed to sell their shares in the company to Life Technologies’ German subsidiary Applied Biosystems Deutschland.

Other members of Geneart’s management, as well as the investment firms EquiNet EarlyStage Capital and S-Refit AG, have also agreed to sell their stakes, meaning Applied Biosystems Deutschland now owns 58 per cent of Geneart’s shares.

A cooperation agreement between the two companies has also been confirmed, with a voluntary public tender offer for the remainder of the Geneart shares now being planned by Applied Biosystems Deutschland.

Once the acquisition is complete, Geneart will become part of a group which employs a total of 9,000 workers in 160 countries worldwide.

Last month, Life Technologies launched the Applied Biosystems 7500 Fast Dx Real-Time PCR Instrument in Europe after being granted IVD validation by regulators.