According to KPMG’s CEO Outlook reports between 2021 and 2023, M&A was a crucial growth strategy for executives. Specifically, CEOs believed M&A deals were a way to drive sales growth for companies and moderate external factors such as potential emerging technology disruptions, regulatory demands, and geopolitical and macroeconomic concerns. Additionally, executives who participated in the KPMG CEO Outlook surveys opined that M&A deals helped expand their companies’ technological capabilities and increased their presence in their respective markets.

The pro-M&A notion was apparent among analytical instrumentation and lab tools companies during the same period. Specifically, for the analytical instrument and lab tools industry, associated companies saw M&A as a way to mitigate challenges, such as the rising and subsequent drop-off in demand in the COVID-19 marketplace, regional challenges and demand in a particular market.

Instrument Business Outlook (IBO) tracks and records the M&A deals of the analytical instrument and lab tools industry and publishes an annual review of its findings. The period covered is one year, with the start and end date being December 15. In this feature, IBO highlights the companies that made the most deals per year. Between 2021 and 2023, IBO found that Biosynth Carbosynth, Bruker, Calibre Scientific, Scientific Lab Supplies and Thermo Fisher Scientific acquired the most companies, leading to 66 acquisitions cumulatively. Please note IBO did not record M&A deals involving the purchase of diagnostic firms and CROs/CDMOs.

Biosynth Carbosynth

In 2022 and 2023, the Swiss life science company Biosynth Carbosynth (Biosynth) expanded its critical raw materials, custom synthesis and manufacturing services portfolios through M&A to better cater to the agrochemistry, food, vaccine and other industries. Cumulatively, Biosynth purchased and integrated eight companies that specialized in producing a variety of life science-oriented products and services. Of the eight, five firms mainly manufactured peptide-based products. In 2022, Biosynth acquired US-based vivtide, which supplied custom peptides, antibodies and other products. Also, in 2022, Biosynth integrated the Netherlands-based company Pepscan into its peptide portfolio. Pepscan provides peptide-based products and services to assist end-users in the drug discovery industry. 

Biosynth continued its investment in the peptide market in 2023, acquiring three more companies. One of these companies was Cambridge Research Biochemicals, a UK-based company that made custom peptides and antibodies. Another UK-based company, Pepceuticals, was bought by Biosynth for its synthetic peptide products business.

Bruker

Between 2021 and 2023, Bruker acquired 22 companies to expand its scientific instruments and analytical solutions portfolio that caters to various end-markets such as biotechnology, clinical research, material sciences and more. In the same three-year period, Bruker posted positive annual sales growth, including its acquired businesses contributing a low single-digit percentage tailwind each year.

Bruker focused on particular analytical instrument technologies in its M&A activity between 2021 and 2023. For instance, the company purchased seven firms that provide solutions related to MS instrumentation. In 2021, Bruker became a minority investor in Glycopath, a US-based company that manufactures MALDI-TOF MS systems for biomarker research applications. A year later, Bruker acquired three companies specializing in MS technology: Optimal Industrial Automation and Technologies, which was purchased for $40.3 million; IonSense, which was an $8.0 million purchase; and TOFWERK, which was acquired for $18.6 million. Also in 2022, Bruker bought a majority stake in PreOmics, a German proteomics sample prep company, for a purchase price of $52.1 million.

In both 2021 and 2023, Bruker invested in the cell-based instrumentation market. In 2021, the company bought two cell-based analysis companies. Acquity Spatial Genomics, a US-based company specializing in 3D genomics visualization, was purchased for $4.5 million. MOLECUBES, which makes preclinical imaging systems, was also acquired and integrated into Bruker’s BioSpin division.

In 2023, Bruker made two deals for cell-based instrument companies. Bruker’s acquisition of PhenomeX, a US-based single-cell biology tools provider, was one of its biggest deals of 2023, worth $108.0 million. Bruker was attracted to PhenomeX’s optofluidic and single-cell proteomic system lines for antibody development, cell line development, and cell and gene therapy end-users. One was ACQUIFER Imaging, which supplied imaging processing, data management tools and microscopy systems, and was bought for $7.6 million. Both companies were integrated into Bruker’s Nano division.

Calibre Scientific

Established in 2018 by private equity firm StoneCalibre, Calibre Scientific specializes in buying distributors of diagnostic solutions, life science products, and routine lab products and instrument services. The company’s portfolio consists of about 57 companies located in the Americas and Europe. Between 2021 and 2023, the company acquired about 26 firms that vary in specialization and location. On a geographical basis, Calibre Scientific purchased 22 firms in Europe and four in the Americas.

Scientific Laboratory Supplies

UK lab equipment and consumable supplier and distributor Scientific Laboratory Supplies (SLS) had an active 2022 and 2023 in the M&A sphere, acquiring four companies. Each acquired company specialized in lab equipment manufacturing and was headquartered in different regions. For instance, Gem Scientific manufactured hygiene testing devices and consumables in the UK; Northern Balance, another UK firm, provided industrial weighing scales and balances to labs; and the Irish company Sparks Lab Supplies was a general lab supply distributor. In the case of Canadian company Aurora Scientific, SLS bought a controlling stake in the firm, which specialized in sample prep equipment for the UK water sector. In 2022, SLS focused more on consolidation in the lab product distribution market worldwide rather than a specific product-market or region.

In 2023, SLS only completed one M&A deal, which was the purchase of UK lab equipment distributor and service provider, C&M Scientific. SLS acquired C&M Scientific to expand its scientific calibration, maintenance and validation offerings.

Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher had a solid sales performance in 2021. The company posted a 21.7% sales increase to $39.2 billion, partly thanks to its acquired businesses contributing a 3% tailwind to its annual sales growth. While its existing acquired companies were helping its sales performance in 2021, Thermo Fisher continued to expand its exhaustive portfolio by acquiring six companies that year. Highlights included Thermo Fisher purchasing the former Novasep business, Henogen, for $861.0 million. Henogen was a Belgium-based viral vector manufacturing business serving the vaccine and therapies sector. Now, Henogen is part of the pharma service within the Laboratory Products and Services Segment.

Also, in 2021, Thermo Fisher completed M&A deals for two US companies that offer cell-related technologies. They were US company Propel Labs, which offers cell sorting technology, and Phitonex, a single-cell analysis and flow cytometry reagent business. Propel Labs is a part of Thermo Fisher’s Biosciences business, while Phitonex’s portfolio was folded into Thermo Fisher’s Life Science Solutions division.

Conclusion

Biosynth, Bruker, Calibre Scientific, SLS and Thermo Fisher each focus on a variety of industries and markets. All five companies’ M&A activity showed that each one wanted to expand and diversify their business in their specific way to increase their presence in reliable markets and mitigate exposure to high-risk ones. Bruker and Thermo Fisher each acquired companies that manufactured cell analysis instrumentation. Overall, Calibre Scientific acquired the most companies between December 2021 and 2023, totaling 26 firms primarily in distribution.