Abcam agrees to acquire Expedeon’s Proteomics and Immunology business, expanding offerings into the fast-growing conjugation segment

-      Acquisition of leading protein conjugation technologies and products with well-known industry brands, including Lightening-Link^® and CaptSure^TM

-      Complementary to Abcam’s existing antibody and multiplex growth strategy, with high customer overlap

-      Acquisition expected to be accretive from the first full year of ownership (FY21)¹ and to deliver a ROIC (pre-tax) ahead of the Group’s WACC by the third full year of ownership (FY23)

Abcam plc (AIM LSE: ABC), a global leader in the supply of life science research tools, today announces that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Expedeon Ltd, Innova Biosciences Ltd. and TGR BioSciences (the “Proteomics and Immunology business”) from Expedeon AG (“Expedeon”) for a cash consideration of €120 million (the “Acquisition”).

Background to and reasons for the Acquisition

Protein labelling is a large, growing market – essential to biological research in proteomics.  Proteomics research requires the use of molecular labels that are covalently attached to a protein of interest to facilitate detection or purification of the protein or its binding partners.

The Acquisition represents a compelling strategic fit for Abcam:

-     Accelerates Abcam's strategic ambition within the complementary antibody conjugation and labelling market, where there is high customer overlap;

-     Expands Abcam’s addressable market by leveraging Expedeon’s technologies in conjugation with Abcam’s deep expertise and experience in customer service, digital marketing and sales; and

-     Provides opportunity to combine Expedeon and Abcam’s technologies to create new value-added products to support customer needs

Principal terms and financial effects of the Acquisition

-     Proposed acquisition of Expedeon’s Proteomics and Immunology business for a cash consideration of €120 million on a cash free / debt free basis

-     Acquisition to be funded from a drawdown of the Group’s Revolving Credit Facility and existing cash resources

-     Acquisition subject to approval by Expedeon shareholders at a general meeting to be held on 19 December 2019. If approved by Expedeon shareholders, the Acquisition is expected to close in early 2020

-     The proposed transaction results in the acquisition of substantially all the revenues, profits and assets of Expedeon. The most recently audited results of Expedeon, for the 12 months ended 31 December 2018, were revenues of €13.1m (£11.3m), adjusted EBITDA of €1.0m (£0.9m) and Net assets of €46.5m (£40.0m)²

-     The Acquisition is expected to be neutral to Abcam’s adjusted earnings in the current financial year (FY20) and accretive from the first full year of ownership (FY21)¹. The Acquisition is expected to deliver a ROIC (pre-tax) ahead of the Group’s Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) by the third full year of ownership (FY23)

Alan Hirzel, CEO of Abcam, commented:

“Abcam’s growth strategy is committed to building out conjugation and assay capabilities.  Expedeon’s portfolio of products and technology, combined with Abcam’s antibody and protein strengths, will put our company in a strong position to address the growing need for antibody conjugation and multiplexing solutions.  We look forward to taking these innovation capabilities to market to provide a broader array of distinctive products for our customers.”

Analyst and Investor Conference Call

A conference call for analysts and investors will be held at 1400 GMT / 0900 EST, today.

To participate in this call, please contact Mary Whittow at FTI Consulting (Mary.Whittow@fticonsulting.com / +44 (0)20 3327 1366) for dial-in details.

1. Before acquisition and integration related costs
2. Based on an average EUR:GBP exchange rate of 1.16:1

Ondra LLP provided advice to the Board of Directors of Abcam in relation to this transaction.

For further information, please contact:

Abcam

+ 44 (0) 1223 696 000

Alan Hirzel, Chief Executive Officer

Gavin Wood, Chief Financial Officer

James Staveley, VP Investor Relations

J.P. Morgan Cazenove – Nominated Advisor and Joint Corporate Broker

+44 (0) 20 7742 4000

James Mitford / Hemant Kapoor

Numis – Joint Corporate Broker      

+44 (0) 20 7260 1000

Garry Levin / Duncan Monteith

FTI Consulting (Media enquiries)

+44 (0) 20 3727 1000

Ben Atwell / Brett Pollard / Natalie Garland-Collins