UPDATE
ATMI sells bioreactor biz to Pall following strategic review
ATMI announced this morning it has reached an agreement with filtration, separation and purification firm Pall who will acquire all assets of the Life Sciences business for $185m, including two facilities in Belgium and a shared site in Minnesota, US.
Troy Dewar, Director of Investor Relations at ATMI, told Biopharma-Reporter.com the sale is part of an ongoing strategic process first announced in November.
“The LifeSciences business is being sold to place it in the hands of a strategic owner who will invest and accelerate the growth of the business, and allow ATMI to realise the value of the business.”
He added: “At the time of the sale, the LifeSciences business had not yet reached profitability levels.”
The business – which makes bioreactors for the biomanufacturing industry, as well as mixers, bioprocess vessels, packaging materials, development services and vials – is expected to be transferred to Pall during the first quarter of 2014, depending on regulatory approvals.
Strategic Review
In November, ATMI began the strategic review of its businesses following a third quarter revenue drop of 7%, mostly from its larger semiconductors business arm
Barclays Capital was hired as financial advisor and will steer the sale, whilst ATMi has also hired Weil, Gotshal & Manges to act as legal advisor.
ATMI’s CEO Doug Neugold added that whilst the sale was as a result of November’s review, the deal would have significant value for both the business’ customer base and its shareholders.
Single-Use Growth
The company told Biopharma-Reporter.com last month that whilst sales were down across the company, its Life Science unit was strong, and though sales were yet to fully materialise, growth was expected to reach 20-30% per year in the next few years due in part to the industry's uptake of disposable technology.
Dewar told Biopharma-Reporter.com at the time: “Our Life Sciences business is doing very well” and is “positioned to benefit from the anticipate adoption of single-use technology by the biopharmaceutical industry.”
