Sigma-Aldrich To Acquire Cell Marque

(RTTNews) - Sigma-Aldrich Corp. (SIAL) said Friday that it has agreed to acquire Cell Marque Corp., a maker of antibody reagents, in a move to strengthen its antibody portfolio for immunohistochemistry or IHC customers. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Rocklin, California-based Cell Marque designs, develops and manufactures antibody reagents and kits, an offering that will complement Sigma-Aldrich's IHC product family. Products of the company, which employs more than 90 people, include validated, fit-for-purpose antibodies and IHC staining kits aimed at pathologists and clinicians focused on patient management.

St. Louis, Missouri-based Sigma-Aldrich is a life science and high technology company with 9,000 employees. It manufactures chemicals, biochemicals and equipments, and also provides biopharmaceutical testing services.

Commenting on the deal, Frank Wicks, President of Sigma-Aldrich's Applied Business Unit said, "We expect that Cell Marque's strong in vitro diagnostic (IVD) antibody product lines and solid relationships with pathologists and companies that provide automated staining instrumentation will broaden the diagnostic health reach of Sigma-Aldrich."

Wicks added, "Cell Marque's scientific knowledge and experience in the design, validation and manufacturing of IVD antibodies for immunohistochemistry make them an attractive addition to our business, complementing our workflow solutions aimed at IVD customers."

Sigma-Aldrich expects the transaction to close by the end of 2014.

In September, German drug maker Merck KGaA (MKGAY.PK) said it has agreed to buy Sigma-Aldrich for $140 per share in cash, totaling $17.0 billion or 13.1 billion euros, establishing a major player in the life science industry.

According to Merck KGaA, the acquisition will expand its division EMD Millipore's global reach, increase the company's presence in North America and add exposure to fast-growing Asian markets.

The company expects the combined life science business to have solid growth potential, strong and sustainable cash flow, and meaningful efficiency potential on an operational level.

Closing of the transaction is expected in mid-2015, subject to regulatory approvals, approval by a special meeting of the shareholders of Sigma-Aldrich, and other customary closing conditions.

SIAL is currently trading at $135.51, up $0.06 or 0.04 percent on a volume of 79,718 shares.