BioTime, Inc, a biotechnology company that develops and markets products in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine, is planning to acquire the Singapore-based company ES Cell International Pte Ltd (ESI). The acquisition is expected to close next week.BioTime will be providing full details of the acquisition and outline its business plans with respect to the acquired assets at that time.

Established in 2000, ESI has been at the forefront of advances in human embryonic stem cell technology, being one of the earliest distributors of hES cell lines to the research community. More recently, ESI has produced an additional six new clinical-grade human embryonic stem cell lines that were derived following principles of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and currently offers them for potential use in therapeutic product development. ESI's assets also include 20 patent families, including 50 issued patents in the field of stem cell biology, and a significant equity position in the Israel-based stem cell company CellCure Neurosciences Ltd. BioTime plans to combine the newly-acquired assets with its ACTCellerate and ReCyte technologies to accelerate the development of numerous human therapeutic products.

At closing, BioTime will issue approximately 1.38 million of its common shares and 300,000 warrants to purchase additional common shares. This new class of BioTime warrants will have an exercise price of US$ 10 per BioTime common share and a term of four years. In exchange for these shares and warrants, BioTime will acquire all of ESI's outstanding ordinary and preferred shares, and all of ESI's approximately US$ 35 million of debt and accrued interest. ESI has no significant liabilities other than the debt obligations that BioTime will own after the acquisition.

"The founding scientists of ESI have been pioneers in the field of regenerative medicine," said Michael D West, president and chief executive officer of BioTime, Inc. "The combination of ESI's assets with BioTime give the combined company a broad manufacturing platform for a wide array of potential human therapeutic products."