Eurofins signs agreement to acquire ViraCor-IBT Laboratories, Inc.

Eurofins Scientific (EUFI.PA), the global leader in bio-analytical testing, and one of the world leaders in genomic services, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire ViraCor-IBT Laboratories, Inc. (VIBT) from majority owner Ampersand Capital and other shareholders for approximately $255m, subject to post-closing adjustments.

VIBT is a premier esoteric reference laboratory providing biologic and large molecular biomarker support, along with molecular testing (qPCR/sequencing) to hospitals, physicians and biotech/pharmaceutical companies. VIBT is based in the Kansas City metro area with a satellite lab in Los Angeles. The Company serves 550 institutional clients and over 4,000 affiliated clinicians as well as 12 leading pharmaceutical companies across the US.  With over 30 years of specialty diagnostic testing experience, the Company is expected to generate revenues in excess of $80m for calendar year 2014, (having grown organically by 12% in the first quarter of 2014 and 10% in 2013) and EBITDA of $25m.

VIBT believes it is one of the largest privately-held independent laboratories servicing the specialty diagnostic market segment focused on helping physicians treat time-sensitive patients.  With over 2,000 tests available, the Company offers one of the broadest menus of high-complexity testing available for infectious disease, immunology and allergy complications. VIBT's facilities include the latest state-of-the-art testing capabilities including quantitative and qualitative PCR, DNA sequencing, ELISA and other immunoassay platforms. The Company provides industry-leading turnaround times as short as 8 to 10 hours from the point of sample receipt to result reporting for its most time-sensitive tests.

With this acquisition, Eurofins strengthens both itspharmaceutical and genomic service offering and establishes a leading presence in the specialty clinical testing services for infectious disease, immunology, allergy, HLA and serology serving hospitals, clinicians and pharmaceutical companies. This acquisition of VIBT is a further demonstration of Eurofins' commitment to serve the emerging needs of the clinicians, pharmaceutical and biotechnology leaders with laboratory services of the highest quality and reliability.

Comment from Dr. Gilles Martin, Eurofins CEO: "This acquisition reflects our strategy of expanding our network of competence centers. VIBT provides Eurofins strong entry and leadership position in the specialty diagnostic testing market, thereby significantly enhancing our capabilities in pharmaceutical testing. Furthermore, the addition of VIBT into the Eurofins Group allows Eurofins to leverage its renowned competence in genomic testing to better serve the global healthcare community."

The transaction also includes retaining the high quality workforce of nearly 270 employees.  Upon closing of the transaction the company will continue to be known as ViraCor-IBT Laboratories, Inc. Completion of the transaction is expected in the next 60 days and is subject to applicable regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Given that VIBT already has a large single-site laboratory in Kansas City and a specialized satellite laboratory in California, and is operating in a new market segment for Eurofins in the US, no site consolidations or restructuring costs are foreseen as a result of this acquisition.

For more information about Eurofins, please visit www.eurofins.com or contact:

Notes for the editor:

Eurofins - a global leader in bio-analysis

Eurofins Scientific is the world leader in food and pharmaceutical products testing. It is also number one in the world in the field of environmental laboratory services and one of the global market leaders in agroscience, genomics, discovery pharmacology and central laboratory services.

With over 15,000 staff in more than 190 laboratories across 36 countries, Eurofins offers a portfolio of over 100,000 reliable analytical methods for evaluating the safety, identity, composition, authenticity, origin and purity of biological substances and products. The Group provides its customers with high-quality services, accurate results on time and expert advice by its highly qualified staff.

Eurofins is committed to pursuing its dynamic growth strategy by expanding both its technology portfolio and its geographic reach. Through R&D and acquisitions, the Group draws on the latest developments in the field of biotechnology and analytical chemistry to offer its clients unique analytical solutions and the most comprehensive range of testing methods.

As one of the most innovative and quality oriented international players in its industry, Eurofins is ideally positioned to support its clients' increasingly stringent quality and safety standards and the expanding demands of regulatory authorities around the world.

The shares of Eurofins Scientific are listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris Stock Exchange (ISIN FR0000038259, Reuters EUFI.PA, Bloomberg ERF FP).

About Ampersand Capital Partners:

Ampersand is a middle market private equity firm with a focus on growth equity investments in the Healthcare sector.  Over the past two decades, Ampersand has managed $1 billion in private equity partnerships. Ampersand leverages its unique blend of private equity and operating experience to build value and drive long-term performance alongside its portfolio company management teams.  Additional information about Ampersand is available at www.ampersandcapital.com

Important disclaimer:

This press release contains forward-looking statements and estimates that involve risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements and estimates contained herein represent the judgement of Eurofins Scientific’ management as of the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees for future performance, and the forward-looking events discussed in this release may not occur. Eurofins Scientific disclaims any intent or obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements and estimates. All statements and estimates are made based on the information available to the Company’s management as of the date of publication, but no guarantee can be made as to their validity.