A German consortium, led by TOPTICA Photonics AG, has acquired all assets and assumed certain liabilities of TILL Photonics GmbH from Agilent Technologies. The consortium, completed by Frank Lison, the future CEO and Rainer Uhl, the founder and previous owner of TILL Photonics GmbH, plans to continue and grow the business under its previous name and with the previous strategic intentions. The acquisition was finalized on June 30th 2009, financial details were not disclosed.

TILL Photonics GmbH, with its headquarter in Gräfelfing, Munich, Germany, develops and markets innovative solutions for fluorescence microscopy, used in basic research, applied science and medical

diagnostics. TILL’s innovative and leading edge microscope platform allows researchers to combine advanced fluorescence imaging techniques in order to gather better and more meaningful data from

processes occurring in living cells.

TOPTICA Photonics AG, also headquartered in Gräfelfing manufactures diode lasers and ultrafast fiber lasers for various markets. In the field of biophotonics & microscopy TOPTICA’s lasers help researchers using light microscopy techniques to gain a better understanding of the interactions within and between cells.

“TILL’s and TOPTICA’s business structures are very alike. Both companies are technology-driven, offer highly complex products and can claim technological leadership for more than one of their products”, said Dr. Frank Lison, one of the Managing Directors of the newly formed company and currently Vice President of R&D at TOPTICA.

“Advanced optical and fluorescence techniques are indispensible tools for gaining better insight into structure and function of live cells in culture and tissue. TILL’s fluorescence microscopy solutions can be ideally combined with laser solutions. Actually the importance of in microscopy – in life sciences in general – is steadily increasing. Supplemented with the similar company philosophies I can see a very good match, indeed”, said Dr. Rainer Uhl, founder of the original TILL, professor at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich.

The new TILL Photonics GmbH will remain an independent operation, and the TILL product line will continue to be manufactured, sold, installed and serviced by the existing team of TILL employees in Gräfelfing. The company will continue to invest in innovative and leading-edge fluorescence microscopy solutions.

For more information regarding TOPTICA Photonics we recommend the website www.toptica.com.

TILL was founded in 1993 as systems provider for fluorescence microscopy. From its very beginning TILL had placed its focus on the development of innovative, enabling technologies for the study of live cells. Setting out with a novel light source for ratio imaging and the first real-time imaging system on the market, TILL developed a novel, award-winning microscope platform concept, which allows integrating an unprecedented number of functionalities into a single instrument. Based on this technology TILL has subsequently become a provider for complete microscope systems, and the new TILL intends to step into these footsteps and plans to extend the platform concept in order to grow into a wide range of markets, both in basic research, screening and medical diagnostics.