Sartorius Stedim Biotech Closes Acquisition of Slovenian Purification Specialist BIA Separations

Sartorius Stedim Biotech (SSB), a leading partner of the biopharma industry, successfully closed the acquisition of the Slovenian purification specialist BIA Separations. The transaction was completed on November 2, 2020, after receiving the required approvals. "BIA's portfolio is highly complementary to Sartorius Stedim Biotech. We are thus creating an excellent offering for the manufacturing of gene therapies and other advanced therapies, and are pleased to welcome 120 new employees," said Dr. Joachim Kreuzburg, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Sartorius Stedim Biotech. The total purchase price of the transaction is 360 million euros of which 240 million euros were paid in cash and 120 million euros in SSB shares. Both parties have further agreed on three tranches of earn-out payments based on performance over the next five financial years. SSB has been preparing to integrate BIA Separations so this can now be initiated despite the special conditions prevailing during the pandemic. BIA Separations develops and manufactures market-leading products for purification and analysis of large biomolecules, such as viruses, plasmids and mRNA, which are used in cell and gene therapies and other advanced therapies. BIA's technology for manufacturing-scale purification is already used in production of the first commercialized advanced therapeutics, and the company also has a strong presence with such novel drug candidates in the clinical pipeline. Expecting continued very strong double-digit sales growth over the next few years, BIA is forecasted to earn sales revenue of approx. 25 million euros in 2020 at profit margins that will be accretive to the underlying EBITDA margin of the Sartorius Stedim Biotech Group. The transaction is not expected to have any material impact on Sartorius Stedim Biotech's 2020 results.