Erik Gatenholm is the CEO of BICO Group. [Photo courtesy of BICO]
BICO Group has a deal to acquire QInstruments for $71 million, the life sciences holding company said Friday.
Headquartered in Jena, Germany, QInstruments was founded by CEO Olaf Simmat and Christian Stange in 2003. It’s a developer, manufacturer and supplier of advanced sample preparation automation for clinical diagnostics and biomedical and life science research.
BICO plans to close the deal “as soon as reasonably possible,” according to a news release. QInstruments will operate as a standalone company in BICO’s bioautomation business area to strengthen BICO’s ability to improve workflows for its other subsidiaries and customers.
“Our team invents user-friendly and intuitive systems that enable multidisciplinary research in a cost and time efficient manner,” Simmat said in the news release. “With BICO, we share a common vision of applying precision engineering to solve the challenges of today and look forward to being a part of this exciting group and more importantly leave a mark on the Bio Convergence revolution.”
Founded in 2016 and formerly known as Cellink Life Sciences, BICO rebranded in August 2021 and retained the Cellink name for its bioprinting business. The BICO parent company oversees a dozen subsidiaries.
BICO is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, and has a fast-growing second HQ in Boston. Co-founder and CEO Erik Gatenholm splits his time between the two offices, a spokesperson said.
“By combining biology, technology, and engineering in new ways we can fundamentally shift the future of health,” Gatenholm said in the news release. “With a growing presence in the genomics field, this addition to the portfolio provides customers with a growing range of products to service every step in the Bio Convergence workflow. In this context, QInstruments leads the industry by developing beautiful, customer-centric, sample preparation tools and technologies that (are) impacting major research areas and making a difference in the results the customers can achieve.”