NEW YORK – DiaSorin said Monday that it is selling its Luminex subsidiary's flow cytometry and imaging business to Cytek Biosciences in a $46.5 million cash deal expected to close within 30 days.
Wenbin Jiang, CEO of the Fremont, California-based Cytek, said in a conference call Monday afternoon that the acquisition will expand the firm's technological capabilities and product features, giving Cytek access to Luminex instruments' abilities to study spatial characteristics of cells, movements of proteins within cells, and cell-to-cell interactions. Those features complement Cytek's existing high-dimensional phenotyping and full-spectrum profiling capabilities, he said, indicating that the deal gives the firm access to other Luminex technologies for cell imaging and artificial intelligence-guided cell and cell cluster analysis.
The deal also significantly expands Cytek's global footprint and reach, providing access to Luminex's more than 7,000 installed instruments and 1,500 customers in about 70 countries. Additionally, it will provide the opportunity to expand sales of Cytek's Aurora and Northern Lights instruments and increase product line efficiency and productivity, Jiang said.
In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Cytek said the deal also includes Luminex's assets related to manufacturing, marketing, selling, and servicing Luminex's Amnis, CellStream, Guava, and Muse instruments as well as Luminex's flow cytometry reagent products and services.
Saluggia, Italy-based DiaSorin bought Luminex less than two years ago for $1.8 billion, gaining Luminex's multiplexing technology and molecular testing products, including a broad swath of tests for infectious diseases and genetic tests for women's health.
Luminex President Angelo Rago said in a statement Monday that the subsidiary is working with DiaSorin on several projects to continue Luminex's growth as a "specialty player over the next years."
"To do so, we need to be extremely focused on the core of our future and, therefore, we decided to sell the flow cytometry and imaging business unit to a dedicated, leading player in the space," he said.