Thermo Fisher Scientific makes next move in consolidating market

02.07.10 Vilnius/Waltham – The life sciences tools market is slowly being whittled down to a few major players. At the end of May, Lithuania’s largest lab supplier was the most recent target of an acquisition, when US lab giant Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. strengthened its PCR product portfolio with Fermentas International. The company, which is headquartered in Ontario but pursues all of its research operations in Vilnius, will receive EUR212m in cash, subject to a post-closing adjustment. Thermo Fisher expects to close the transaction by September. A spokesman for the US firm said the acquisition will not have any material impact on Thermo’s 2010 result.
"With Fermentas we are better positioned to meet the demands of molecular and cell biologists for complete workflows,” said Thermo Fisher CEO Marc Casper. Fermentas is a manufacturer and global distributor of enzymes, reagents and kits for molecular and cellular biology research, and generated revenues of roughly US$54m in 2009. It provides a wide range of molecular and cellular biology research tools, including reagents for nucleic-acid and protein purification, molecular weight markers and restriction enzymes. It also provides various products for polymerase chain reaction (PCR), reverse transcription PCR and quantitative real-time PCR.
Thermo Fisher will integrate its new purchase into its Analytical Technologies Segment. Fermentas has approximately 500 employees, and had full-year revenues of approximately US$53m in 2009.