Affymetrix Completes Acquisition Of USB Corporation
Affymetrix Inc. recently announced the completion of its acquisition of USB Corporation, a privately held Cleveland, Ohio-based company that develops, manufactures and markets an extensive line of molecular biology and biochemical reagent products.In connection with the completion of the acquisition, USB stockholders received approximately $75M in cash.
"The acquisition of USB immediately expands our talent base, enhances our whole-product solution offering and creates new, long-term growth opportunities," said Kevin King, president of Affymetrix. "Our customers will now be able to take advantage of a stronger portfolio of GeneChip products today and the incorporation of next-generation sequencing reagents into the products of tomorrow."
USB is a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of enzymes, reagents and kits for life sciences research and industrial applications. The company's offerings are grouped into three major product lines consisting of molecular biology enzymes and kits, biochemical reagents and products used in membrane protein research applications. The company history extends back to the 1970s, known then as United States Biochemical. In 1993, United States Biochemical was purchased by Amersham Life Science, a company that merged in 1997 with Swedish-owned Pharmacia Biotech. The current USB Corporation was founded in 1998 after members of the senior management team acquired the three original product lines back from Amersham Pharmacia Biotech. USB has approximately 100 employees who will be joining Affymetrix.
About Affymetrix
Affymetrix GeneChip microarray technology is the industry-standard tool for analyzing complex genetic information.
After inventing microarray technology in the late 1980s, Affymetrix scientists have been dedicated to developing innovative products that provide researchers with a more complete view of the genome. These products continue to accelerate genetic research and enable scientists to develop diagnostics and tailor treatments for individual patients by identifying and measuring the genetic information associated with complex diseases.
Today, Affymetrix technology is used by the world's top pharmaceutical, diagnostic and biotechnology companies, as well as leading academic, government and not-for-profit research institutes. More than 1,600 systems have been shipped around the world and more than 10,500 peer-reviewed papers have been published using the technology.
Affymetrix is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., and has manufacturing facilities in Sacramento, Calif., Cleveland, Ohio and Singapore. The company has about 1,100 employees worldwide and maintains sales and distribution operations across Europe and Asia. For more information about Affymetrix, please visit: www.affymetrix.com.
SOURCE: Affymetrix Inc.