Qiagen N.V. announced that it had completed the acquisition of the key assets of Molecular Staging Inc (MSI). MSI, a privately held company, has developed a range of proprietary products and services based on its Multiple Displacement Amplification (MDA) technology.
Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, Qiagen has acquired the major assets of MSI (which include over 160 applied or issued patents) for US$28.5 million in cash plus potential earn-outs of up to US$6.75 million. Qiagen expects to incur one-time charges relating to the acquisition of approximately US$2 million in the third quarter 2004.
Based on preliminary analysis, Qiagen expects this transaction to have a positive and slightly accretive impact on Qiagen's 2005 net income per share and revenue growth - adding approximately US$6 million in Net Sales and approximately US$1 million in Net Income in 2005. Qiagen believes that this transaction further expands its position as the market and technology leader in nucleic acid handling, separation and purification in the industrial and academic research, and molecular diagnostics markets, said in a release.
Under the terms of the acquisition, Qiagen also acquired MSI's technology portfolio related to rolling circle amplification (RCA) which includes the exclusive rights to use this technology for protein applications. Qiagen expects that products arising from this technology can target applications for both nucleic acids and proteins.
The key application of MDA is whole genome amplification (WGA) which is designed to eliminate limitations created by the scarce quantities of DNA samples available for customers to perform an increasing number of analyses. MSI's products and services are primarily targeted at Qiagen's current customer base and are a natural complement to Qiagen's current product range. The technology portfolio acquired from MSI adds a new dimension of customer benefit and is in Qiagen's core focus on pre-analytical solutions.
Qiagen expects that the technology portfolio acquired from MSI will provide a solution to the limitations of scarce DNA samples. Following Qiagen-based nucleic acid purification, whole genome amplification (WGA) provides precise, complete and unlimited copies of the entire genome and thereby creates a sufficient quantity of DNA from even the smallest amounts of starting material to enable a practically unlimited number of analyses. Performing WGA is therefore often described as "immortalizing" the sample. Qiagen says that the opportunities for the WGA technology it acquired from MSI are broad, reaching from general research to sample storage facilities and into diagnostics.
Qiagen intends to launch a series of kits integrating MSI's WGA technology to address specific customer needs in early 2005. MSI's WGA activities will be integrated into Qiagen's operations in Germantown, Maryland and Hilden, Germany.
"This accretive acquisition adds a unique and highly synergistic technology position to Qiagen. We believe that following this transaction, Qiagen will be the clear technology and market leader for whole genome amplification and is thereby adding a new and valuable dimension of customer benefit for pre-analytical processing between sample collection and analysis. We expect that the technologies acquired will provide solutions for rapidly emerging needs in fast-growing segments of our core markets and integrate well with Qiagen´s product portfolio for nucleic acid sample handling, separation and purification. It is a terrific fit for us, as we are addressing the same customers, with comparable product formats and are leveraging the core strengths of our focused sales force,'' said Peer M Schatz, Qiagen's chief executive officer.
Richard Barker, MSI's chairman said, "We have seen great enthusiasm from the market for our WGA products and have confidence that Qiagen will be able to build upon this and further develop the technology to ensure that it remains the leader in the exciting and dynamic market where DNA is a scarce and valuable asset."
Qiagen N.V, a Netherlands holding company with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States , Japan , the United Kingdom , Switzerland , France , Italy , Australia , Norway , Austria , Canada , is the one of the world's leading providers of innovative enabling technologies and products for the separation, purification and handling of nucleic acids.