A record breaking transaction overshadowed tepid merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the instrument and laboratory product–related industry in 2013. Upon completion, Thermo Fisher Scientific’s acquisition of Life Technologies for $13.6 billion and assumed debt of $2.2 billion (see IBO 4/15/13) will represent the single largest transaction ever in the analytical instrument and laboratory product–related markets, surpassing the 2006 merger of Thermo Electron and Fisher Scientific, which was valued at $10.3 billion and assumed debt of $2.3 billion (see IBO 5/15/06).

Despite the blockbuster deal and generally favorable M&A conditions, the total number of announced transactions slowed from the prior year. The anemic activity may be a consequence of high company valuations, general economic uncertainty and increased share buybacks. While companies have been more selective, some technologies were particular attractive, such as sequencing, microscopy and informatics. As usually, bolt-on acquisitions and geographic-related transactions also fueled activity.

IBO’s annual summary of M&A in the analytical instrument and laboratory product–related markets is comprised of deals announced in IBO between November 30, 2012, and November 15, 2013. The article and tables are based on publicly available information.

Thermo’s momentous acquisition of Life, which is expected to close in early 2014, brings complementary technologies and end-markets to the company. The acquisition significantly increases its real-time PCR and bioproduction portfolios, and offers entry into the next generation sequencing (NGS) market. Life also gives Thermo an established e-commerce platform and a bigger presence in Asia Pacific. While the acquisition will provide Thermo with strong free cash flow from consumables and growth opportunities in molecular diagnostic applications, Thermo will also face greater exposure to the softer US academic and government markets and appreciably higher debt.

In another notable transaction, Endress+Hauser, which prior to now participated only in the process analytical market, leaped into the analytical and life science laboratory instrument market. The company completed several transactions to gain a majority share of Analytik Jena and remains on track to acquire all remaining shares (see page 2, IBO 9/30/13). The acquisition will give Endress+Hauser a range of spectroscopy and life science instrumentation products, including a strong portfolio of electrophoresis imaging equipment, which Analytik Jena acquired via UVP earlier this year (see IBO 4/30/13). Endress+Hauser also added laboratory Raman spectroscopy technology through the purchase of Kaiser Optical Systems (see IBO 8/31/13).

Another company entering a new market through acquisitions was QIAGEN, which made two acquisitions, leading it one step closer to its first NGS platform, a complete automated workflow solution geared toward clinical applications. Following last year’s acquisition of Intelligent BioSystems (see IBO 6/30/12), which gave it a sequencing instrument, this year, QIAGEN built out its informatics capabilities for sequencing by purchasing bioinformatics companies Ingenuity Systems (see IBO 4/30/13) and CLC bio (see IBO 10/31/13). The company’s sequencer is expected to be introduced next year.

Also with the clinical sequencing market in mind, Illumina acquired bioinformatics firm NextBio this year (see IBO 10/31/13) in order to build out its cloud computing offerings and genomic information workflow. Building around its sequencing capabilities for all application areas, Illumina gained microfluidics technology via the acquisition of Advanced Liquid Logic (see IBO 7/31/13), which will enhance the speed and lower reagent costs for sequencing workflows. Illumina also purchased start-up firm Moleculo (see IBO 1/15/13), which gives Illumina long-read sequencing technology.

Several other transactions also focused on informatics. Lab informatics firm Accelrys added to its list of purchases, buying Vialis (see IBO 1/15/13) and ChemSW (see IBO 9/15/13) this year. MS software firm PREMIER Biosoft added to its offerings with the purchase of competitor ProteoIQ (see IBO 3/15/13). MS software was also deemed a strategic asset by Waters, which acquired Nonlinear Dynamics (see IBO 8/15/13). In the cheminformatics market, scientific publisher Elsevier added to its portfolio of scientific databases with the purchase of Aureus Sciences (see IBO 3/31/13).

The attraction to new markets also supported M&A activity. Thermo entered the NMR market via the purchase of picoSpin (see IBO 12/31/12). Waters’s TA Instrument business entered the physical testing segment of the materials characterization instrument market by purchasing Scarabaeus Mess- und Produktionstechnik (see IBO 10/31/15). Trajan Scientific and Medical purchased the chromatography and liquid handling businesses of SGE Analytical Science (see IBO 6/15/13). Spectris’s PANalytical business added portable spectroscopy with the purchase of Analytical Spectral Devices (see IBO 11/30/12).

Spectris was also among the companies targeting the microscopy market. Spectris’s Malvern Instruments business acquired NanoSight (see IBO 9/30/13), which adds microscopy-based analysis to its range of particle characterization analysis solutions. ZEISS added 3D X-ray microscopy technology to its microscopy portfolio to expand the types of analysis its products can provide through the purchase of Xradia (see IBO 6/15/13). Likewise, Bruker grew its portfolio of microscopy techniques, adding fluorescence microscopy with the acquisition of Prairie Technologies (see IBO 9/15/13).

However, no company appeared more ready to embrace the technique than Oxford Instruments, which acquired Asylum Research (see IBO 12/31/13), a provider of scanning probe microscopes, and made an offer for Andor Technology (see page 2), which supplies confocal microscopy systems and components.

Cellular analysis continued this to fuel the acquisitions of technologies for research and diagnostics applications. In the area of flow cytometry, Sysmex acquired Partec (see IBO 10/15/13) and Thorlabs entered the flow cytometry market with the purchase of CompuCyte (see IBO 10/15/13). Miltenyi Biotec acquired Owl biomedical (see IBO 4/30/13), adding microfluidic technology for cell sorting. Also acquiring microfluidic technology, but for single-cell sorting, was Italian pharmaceutical firm Menarini, which purchased Silicon Biosystems in September, with plans to develop the technology’s diagnostic applications. One of the three acquisitions this year by life science consumables firm Biosearch Technologies was LightSpeed Genomics, which develops optical detection technology for research and diagnostic applications involving cell imaging.

Life science consumables continued to drive acquisition activity. Looking to add reagent manufacturing capabilities, Dasit Sciences purchased Carlo Erba Reagenti (see IBO 7/31/13) and VWR bought United Biochemicals (see IBO 7/15/13). Alfa Aesar added to its life science business by purchasing Biomedical Technologies (see IBO 10/15/31). Active Motif expanded its gene regulation offering through the purchase of SwitchGear Genomics (see IBO 3/31/13). SeraCare Life Sciences acquired Kirkegaard & Perry Laboratories (see IBO 8/31/13), which develops antibodies and related reagents for life science research and diagnostics. Also in the research antibody segment of the life science consumables market, Bio-Rad Laboratories purchased MorphoSys’s AbD Serotec division (see IBO 12/31/12) and Rockland Immunochemicals acquired the Epi-Plus antibody product line (see IBO 5/15/13).

Similar to Thermo and Waters, several other companies initiated bolt-on acquisitions. Teledyne Technologies purchased CETAC (see IBO 8/31/13). Brooks Automation also acquired Matrical Bioscience (see IBO 7/31/13). As for bolt-ons in the chromatography market, Life purchased BAC (see IBO 1/31/13) and Gilson acquired chromatography purification company Armen (see IBO 10/31/13).

Following a quiet year in 2012, private equity firms were more active this year. Capital Resource Partners acquired the preclinical division of Gamma Medica (see IBO 7/31/13) and Bioscan. StoneCalibre acquired Affymetrix’s Anatrace business (see IBO 10/15/13). Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) agreed to acquire 80% of Panasonic’s Healthcare unit (see IBO 10/15/13), which includes biomedical lab equipment, expanding its sales channel and customer base in Japan.

Like KKR, a number of other companies sought acquisitions to expand their global infrastructure. Techcomp grew its operations in Europe, acquiring the majority share of Scottish company Edinburgh Instruments (see IBO 2/28/13). Biosearch Technologies acquired the oligonucleotide manufacturing division of Dutch-based DNA Technology, and German company VitraBio (see IBO 2/28/13).

Also adding to geographic diversification were acquisitions of distributors. Life purchased two South Korean distributors: reagent distributor KDR Biotech (see IBO 4/15/13) and instrument distributor Life Science Korea (see IBO 6/15/13). Also in Asia, lab equipment firm Kewaunee Scientific acquired the remaining 49% of its subsidiary Kewaunee Labway Asia (see IBO 7/15/13) and FEI acquired its Australian distributor nanoTechnology Systems (see IBO 10/15/13). Expanding coverage in the Americas was Agilent Technologies, which purchased its Mexican distributor ABC Instrumentación Analítica (see IBO 10/31/15); Leica Microsystems, which purchased its Brazilian distributor, Cientificos (see IBO 4/30/13); and VWR, which started a new lab distribution business in Costa Rica with the purchase of Metro Servicios. VWR continued to expand in Europe, acquiring lab supply distributors in Turkey and Germany (see IBO 4/15/13).

Companies divesting businesses included Affymetrix (see IBO 12/15/12, 10/15/13), Intevac Photonics (see IBO 5/15/13) and Sigma-Aldrich (see IBO 3/31/13).