Sartorius Stedim Biotech, a leading global supplier for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, has made a cash offer to acquire the UK company TAP Biosystems Group. The proposed transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of TAP’s shareholders, values the firm at approximately €33m.
The deal has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is expected to close at the end of the year.
'TAP Biosystems’ fermentors are a great fit extending our reach into the small-scale cell culture applications,' said Joachim Kreuzburg, Chief Executive of Sartorius Stedim Biotech.
'Adding capabilities in the early steps of upstream bioprocessing will enable us to provide our biopharma customers with highly effective and scalable solutions to accelerate cell line selection, speed-up process development and ultimately help them bring their biologics to market faster.'
TAP Biosystems specialises in the design and development of small-scale, multi-parallel fermentation systems particularly for biopharmaceutical applications. With its ambr product family, the company offers a novel platform technology for single-use fermentation that mimics mammalian cell culture at small scale, an innovative alternative to conventional systems.
TAP Biosystems' portfolio also includes automated cell processing systems and other benchtop equipment.
Founded in 1987, the company is headquartered in Royston, UK, and has a sales and support facility near Wilmington, Delaware, US. The firm generated sales revenue of approximately €26m in 2012/13 and employs about 160 people worldwide.
David Newble, CEO of TAP Biosystems, said, 'As a market leader in bioprocessing technologies with a strong position in fermentation, Sartorius Stedim Biotech is well placed to maximise the opportunities of our novel, highly innovative cell culture technologies.
'We look forward to joining such a well-recognised organisation that will enable us to grow our business further with a wealth of complementary technologies and products.'
