Techne (TECH) Acquires Novus Biologicals in $60M Cash Deal

Techne (NASDAQ: TECH) has acquired Novus Biologicals for $60 million in cash. The transaction was financed with cash on hand.

Novus Biologicals is a Littleton, Colorado-based supplier of a large portfolio of both outsourced and in-house developed antibodies and other reagents for life science research. Their collection of greater than 250,000 high-quality products delivered through an innovative digital commerce platform provides customers a unique, one-stop shopping experience.

Bio-Techne is a leading developer and manufacturer of purified proteins – notably cytokines and growth factors, antibodies, immunoassays and biologically active small molecule compounds which are sold to biomedical researchers and clinical research laboratories. Novus Biologicals is an excellent complement to the expanding Bio-Techne portfolio of products and its addition is consistent with Bio-Techne's overall goal of providing customers the most comprehensive product line for their research needs. More specifically, Novus adds strength to Bio-Techne's antibody business and provides access to a wide range of high quality antibody content for potential inclusion in new assays and kits, as well as for use with instruments Bio-Techne intends to offer following completion of a pending acquisition transaction. In addition, Bio-Techne expects to leverage Novus' excellent digital marketing capability and their strong management team.

Charles R. Kummeth, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bio-Techne, commented, "This acquisition is consistent with our mission to expand our products offering and ensure that our customers are being served in the most complete fashion with the best quality reagents. Over the years the R&D Systems brand has developed a strong reputation for quality reagents for life science research through its protein, antibody and immunoassay product lines. We appreciate the fact that customers' reagent needs change and Bio-Techne wants their first choice to be a Bio-Techne branded product when selecting a supplier of reagents for their experimentation. Therefore, an expansion of our antibody portfolio was a logical step in our long term strategic business plan. We are eager to adopt the digital commercial platforms that Novus Biologicals has perfected over the years to accelerate the growth of our overall business."

Novus Biologicals Chief Executive Officer, Karen Padgett, commented, "We are delighted to partner with Bio-Techne since we see this as a strategically good fit. Both Novus Biologicals and Bio-Techne have a desire to improve life science research by providing customers with the widest array of technical solutions and tools. The combined business will represent a unique one-stop-shop for our world-wide customers."

The Novus Biologicals leadership team, Karen Padgett, and Dave Eansor will remain in place. Mainsail Partners, a growth equity firm based in San Francisco, has been the sole investor in Novus Biologicals since 2008.

Fredrikson & Byron, P.A. is serving as Bio-Techne's legal counsel. Choate Hall & Stewart LLP is serving as Novus Biologicals' legal counsel. The transaction closed on July 2, 2014.

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