Männedorf, Switzerland 8/16/18—Tecan, which supplies lab instruments and solutions, has agreed to acquire NuGEN for $54.5 million in cash, equivalent to around less than four times expected fiscal 2018 revenues. With more than 70 employees, NuGEN provides kits and sample preparation consumables for NGS and microarrays. “NuGEN’s innovative NGS kits and genomic sample preparation solutions are an excellent complement to our industry ­leading automated workstations for genomic applications,” commented Tecan CEO Dr. David Martyr. “Through this acquisition, we are accelerating our broad genomics strategy and further increase our recurring revenues. With further dedicated solution offerings in one of the fastest growing market segments in life sciences, we will be able to enhance the above market average growth of Tecan in years to come.” NuGEN CEO Nitin Sood was named vice president and general manager of Tecan’s NGS reagents business.

Asked how NuGEN’s NGS sample preparation products are differentiated from competitors’ offerings, a Tecan spokesperson told IBO, “The newly launched Celero DNA-Seq with NuQuant library system, for example, provides researchers with a simplified library preparation workflow with integrated quantification for DNA sequencing.” Advantages include fewer steps, no requirement for purification and is additive only, which makes automation easier. Overall processing time is 3 hours, with a standard plate reader used for online QC. Discussing the unique automation capabilities that Tecan can deliver for this application, he said, “Together with NuGEN, Tecan can leverage its automation expertise and leading position within the market for genomic instruments to offer complete solutions for NGS library preparation, comprising dedicated workstations, accompanying consumables and differentiated NGS reagents. With Tecan’s global presence, we see an opportunity to expand the business with an increased presence in North America, Europe as well as expanding sales capabilities in China—making the technology accessible to more customers.”

Tecan expects to triple NuGEN’s revenues by 2023 as part of the CHF 75 million ($76 million at CHF 0.99 = $1) in sales generated by its  genomics strategy. The acquisition is anticipated to become accretive to Tecan EPS before transaction-related amoritization in 2022. The transaction is expected to close in the next few weeks.