Donaldson Company strengthens presence in biopharma with Solaris Biotechnology acquisition

By Rachel Arthur

- Last updated on GMT

Solaris' Porto Mantovano headquarters. Pic: Solaris.
Solaris' Porto Mantovano headquarters. Pic: Solaris.

Related tags bioprocessing italy

Donaldson Company, Inc., a global provider of filtration products and solutions, has acquired Solaris Biotechnology Srl for around €41m ($46m).

Headquartered in Porto Mantovano, Italy – and with US operations based in Berkeley, California - Solaris designs and manufactures bioprocessing equipment. This includes bioreactors, fermenters and tangential flow filtration systems for use in food and beverage, biotechnology and other life sciences markets.

Its product portfolio ranges from benchtop systems for research and development to pilot and commercial-scale manufacturing systems.

The company has around 30 employees and expects to post around €5m ($5.6m) in revenue in calendar 2021.

Minneapolis-headquartered Donaldson Company will add Solaris to its Industrial Filtration Solutions business in the Industrial Products segment: with the acquisition set to strengthen its offer for the biopharma industry.  

“We are excited about Solaris’ capabilities and growth trajectory, and this acquisition is an important step on our journey towards strengthening our presence in the life sciences market,”​ said Tod Carpenter, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Donaldson.

“With Solaris, we are well-positioned to provide more comprehensive solutions to food and beverage customers and expand our access to biopharma and other key life sciences markets.

"We are committed to building our presence in these markets, and this acquisition, combined with a strong pipeline of opportunities for both focused organic growth and additional acquisitions, gives us confidence we can deliver on our strategic priorities while creating value for our stakeholders.”

Solaris co-founder and CEO Matteo Brognoli will remain with the company to lead Solaris as managing director with responsibility for day-to-day operations and continued growth of the business.

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