Agilent acquires BioTek Instruments for $1.16bn

Agilent acquisition of BioTek : US-based lab instrument manufacturer Agilent Technologies has wrapped up its previously announced $1.16 billion acquisition of life science instrumentation manufacturer BioTek Instruments.

The acquisition, which was announced in July 2019, is expected to boost Agilent’s position in the growing cell analysis segment.

It was in 2015 when Agilent forayed into the cell analysis segment by acquiring Seahorse Bioscience, a manufacturer of specialized instruments and live-cell, kinetic assays. Last year, Agilent acquired Luxcel Biosciences to expand its portfolio of cell analysis solutions.

Agilent acquisition of BioTek will also consolidate the former’s place in the areas of immune-oncology and immunotherapy.

Headquarters of Agilent Technologies in Santa Clara, California. Photo courtesy of Agilent Technologies, Inc.

Based in Vermont, BioTek Instruments manufactures cell imaging systems, washers, microplate readers, dispensers, stackers and automated incubators.

In the fiscal year 2018 ending 31 December, BioTek Instruments earned revenues of $162 million. The life science instrumentation manufacturer is expected to grow its revenue by nearly 10% in 2019.

The enlarged portfolio of Agilent following the acquisition will provide a variety of unique cell analysis workflows for collecting more reliable insights across a range of cell analysis applications.

Agilent will also tap into BioTek’s expertise to grow its footprint in academia, biopharma, and research to give a better understanding of the complex cellular environments and interactions to customers.

Commenting on Agilent acquisition of BioTek, Mike McMullen – president and CEO of Agilent Technologies, said: “We’re extremely pleased to add BioTek’s tremendously talented employees and industry leading technologies to the Agilent team.

“The combination of our two companies and our collective offerings will help lead to a better understanding of cell function, behavior and interactions. This will enable researchers to more quickly achieve significant breakthroughs in solving the most complex health and science challenges.”

Based in California, Agilent provides software, instruments, services, and consumables to the sciences, diagnostics and applied chemical markets. The lab instrument manufacturer has a workforce of more than 15,500 employees.