(Reuters) -Sartorius will acquire French lab technology company Polyplus for 2.4 billion euros ($2.62 billion) from private investors to strengthen its activities supplying cell and gene therapy companies.
The deal, carried out through the German lab equipment maker's French unit Stedim Biotech, is expected to close during the third quarter of 2023, it said in a statement on Friday.
Polyplus, which was founded in 2001 and has locations in France, Belgium, the U.S. and China, is expected to generate sales in the "upper double-digit million-euro range" and a "very substantial" core profit (EBITDA) margin in 2023, Sartorius said.
Shares in Sartorius, which supplies gear and substances for labs and bioreactors, were down 3.8% at 0730 GMT, while shares in Paris-listed Stedim fell 4.8%.
To fund the Polyplus purchase from private investors including Archimed and an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, Sartorius
will receive a bridge loan facility from JP Morgan for a transitional period, it said.
Sartorius added it plans to refinance the loan with long-term financing instruments, which might also include an equity component.
Polyplus, with around 270 employees, makes key components in the production of modified viruses that are used to deliver cell and gene therapies to targeted parts of a patient's body.
Jefferies LLC acted as financial adviser and Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided legal counsel to Polyplus, it said, while William Blair served as financial adviser and Milbank LLP and Jeantet provided legal counsel to Sartorius.
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