Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), the world leader in serving science, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Finnzymes, a well-recognized provider of integrated tools for molecular biology analysis, including reagents, instruments, consumables and kits. Headquartered in Espoo, Finland, Finnzymes has 90 employees and generated revenue of $20 million in 2009.

Finnzymes provides comprehensive solutions for high-performance polymerase chain reaction (PCR), reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). The company's expertise in DNA polymerases has led to significant increases in the performance of these enzymes, making the PCR process faster and more accurate. The ability to quickly and reproducibly amplify and quantify particular DNA sequences benefits a variety of applications, including basic genomic research, genetic testing, forensics and food testing.

The acquisition of Finnzymes expands Thermo Fisher's portfolio of reagents and other consumables for the molecular biology research and diagnostics markets through the addition of its proprietary DNA polymerases, Phire(TM) and Phusion(TM), and high-speed miniaturized thermal cyclers and innovative plastic tubes and plates. These products complement the recently launched Thermo Scientific Solaris qPCR gene expression assays and, together, deliver a more complete solution for customers. Combining the gene-specific MGB^(R)-based probes from Thermo Scientific with the advanced enzyme performance from Finnzymes will further enhance qPCR assay technology.

"The addition of Finnzymes' innovative enzyme portfolio and unique PCR instrument platform strengthens our broad range of life science reagents and consumables, as well as our specialty diagnostics product offering," said Marc N. Casper, president and chief executive officer of Thermo Fisher Scientific. "This combination brings together key complementary technologies for molecular biology and diagnostics, allowing us to create significant value for our customers."

Finnzymes will be integrated primarily into Thermo Fisher Scientific's Analytical Technologies Segment, with some equipment and consumables product lines being added to the Laboratory Products and Services Segment. The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of 2010. The company does not expect this transaction to have a material impact on its 2010 financial results.

Source: Thermo Fisher Scientific