Eurobio completes acquisition of GenDx

France-based medical diagnostics and life sciences company Eurobio Scientific has closed the acquisition of Genome Diagnostics (GenDx) for a total of €135m.

Established in 2005, GenDx specialises in the molecular diagnostics of transplants using high-resolution HLA typing to evaluate the compatibility between donors and recipients.

In August this year, the two companies signed an agreement for the potential acquisition.

Eurobio partly financed the acquisition using its own cash and partly through a loan from a syndicate of banks, including LCL, BNP, Crédit Agricole Ile de France, BRED and CIC.

The company secured a total of €90m in loan and holds an option to expand the loan by €40m in a period of three years, to preserve financial resources.

In addition to funding the acquisition, Eurobio plans to use a part of the loan to repay the outstanding balance of its March 2020 syndicated loan, for around €4.5m.

Eurobio said that the acquisition will enhance its commercial portfolio with HLA diagnostic products, and strengthen its geographical footprint, primarily in Europe and the US.

Eurobio Scientific deputy managing director and co-CEO Denis Fortier said: “This operation is transformative for Eurobio Scientific and is fully in line with the development strategy that we have been successfully pursuing for several years and which is based on a direct presence in Europe and an increase in the share of proprietary products.

Eurobio Scientific deputy managing director and CFO Hervé Duchesne de Lamotte said: “This merger, which has the support of our financial partners, will allow Eurobio Scientific to significantly increase the share of proprietary products in its turnover and therefore its profitability.”

GenDx is engaged in developing and marketing a complete family of products, including reagents for HLA typing, software for analysing sequencing results, and training modules.

The company employs more than 80 people, primarily working in the Netherlands, and has sales force teams present in Benelux, Germany, and the US.

With the acquisition of GenDx, Eurobio is enabled to expand its scientific and technical capabilities, through significant know-how in HLA and NGS technologies.

The company will benefit from GenDx’s advanced technology for digitisation of diagnostics through algorithms and software, along with its geographical footprint.

With a direct presence in the Netherlands, Germany, and North America, GenDx will provide Eurobio with distributors in remaining Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world.

GenDx CEO and co-founder Wietse Mulder said: “Eurobio Scientific, through its demonstrated agility during the Covid crisis and its complementarity with our activities, quickly appeared to us as the best partner to ensure the continued development of transplantation activities, while strengthening the technological base of our new group.

“On a more personal note, I am delighted to join this new group and enable the creation of a leading player in the field of molecular diagnostics in Europe.” NS Medical Devices