Thermo Fisher To Acquire Fermentas

Thermo Fisher Scientific has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Fermentas International, a manufacturer and global distributor of molecular and cellular biology research tools, for $260 million in cash. Fermentas is headquartered in Burlington, ONT, and has operations in Vilnius, Lithuania. Fermentas will be integrated into Thermo’s Analytical Technologies Segment. The transaction is expected to close in 3Q10.

Fermentas provides a range of enzymes, reagents and kits, including reagents for nucleic acid and protein purification, restriction and modifying enzymes, molecular weight markers and other life science research and diagnostic tools. The company also offers products for polymerase chain reaction (PCR), reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR).

“With Fermentas, we are better-positioned to meet the demands of molecular and cell biologists for complete workflows that can accelerate their research and improve results,” said Marc N. Casper, president and chief executive officer of Thermo Fisher Scientific. “The addition of Fermentas, our recent acquisition of Finnzymes and the launch of our new Solaris qPCR assays create a unique combination of products and expertise that enables us to strengthen our depth of capabilities in the high-growth PCR market, including research and PCR-based testing.”