The deal announced yesterday, adds bioprocess management technology Finesse Solutions to Thermo Fisher’s life sciences business.
CEO Marc Casper said the Santa Clara, California-based firm has been a technology partner since 2013, and its universal control system which combines with Thermo Fisher’s own single-use technologies will “strengthen our position in the high-growth bioproduction market.”
Finesse’s Smart technology suite offers a range of data management software, and bioreactor controllers and sensors which allow bioprocessing firms and drugmakers to configurate biomanufacturing processes from labscale to cGMP-compliant production.
Finesse generated around $50m in revenue last year. Financial details of the deal were not divulged, but Thermo Fisher expects the deal to close in the next few days, having received early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.
M&A
The deal is the latest in a string of acquisitions made in the life science space by Thermo Fisher.
Last year the firm bought biological analysis firm Affymetrix for $1.3bn, analytical instrument firm FEI Company for $4.2bn, and stem cell tech and reagent business MTI-GlobalStem. 2015 saw the company add disposable technology firm ASI to its bioprocessing arsenal for $300m, and a year earlier Life Technologies was acquired for $13bn.
Thermo Fisher was also rumoured to be interested in buying downstream disposable tech firm Pall Corporation – since acquired by Danaher for $13bn – and last summer was allegedly eyeing up Illumina for $30bn.
During a call to discuss its Q4 results late last month, Casper told investors his firm continued to look at a number of M&A opportunities.
“The industry is incredibly fragmented,” he said. “So we follow our strategy of looking at things that will strengthen the company strategically, clearly be understood and valued by our customers and create shareholder value, with the primary metric being return on invested capital.”