PerSeptive Biosystems Inc. said Friday it entered into a definitiveagreement to acquire the Biosearch Division, or life sciences area, ofMillipore Corp. for $41 million.Biosearch supplies instrumentation and reagents for nucleic acidsynthesis, peptide synthesis and fluorescence-based assays. Thedivision had 1993 revenues of about $30 million, Noubar Afeyan,president and CEO of PerSeptive, told BioWorld.Earlier this month the companies announced the proposed acquisitionbut did not reveal terms. (See BioWorld Today, July 6, 1994.)Upon closing, which is expected by the end of August, PerSeptive willpay Millipore $1.15 million and issue 4,000 shares of non-votingpreferred stock. The stock is redeemable on each of the first fouranniversaries of the closing for $10 million, payable at PerSeptive'soption in cash or common stock, which would be issued at currentmarket value.Afeyan said PerSeptive has been looking to strengthen its position byentering the DNA and peptide synthesis markets. "We've been focusedon instrumentation and reagents for the purification and analysis ofbiomolecules," he said. "The combination of the two companies wouldmake PerSeptive a significant player in the life sciences tool business."Millipore, which previously announced that it was going to focus on itsmembrane business, also has finalized an agreement to sell its WatersChromatography Division for $340 million to Waters Holdings Inc.,which is comprised of AEA Investors Inc. of New York and BainCapital Inc. of Boston. Millipore said it expects to net about $300million from the two sales, and will use the money primarily to buyback its stock, of which there are 28 million shares outstanding.Millipore (NYSE:MIL) stock closed Friday at $53.38, down 38 cents.PerSeptive (NASDAQ:PBIO) was up 25 cents to close at $14.25 pershare. PerSeptive has 12.4 million shares outstanding (more than 13million fully diluted).Afeyan said the deferred payment method offers PerSeptive the abilityto use the cash to grow the business and the opportunity to takeadvantage of any increase in the price of its stock."Our revenues for the last quarter (that ended March 31) were $13million, so they will add substantial revenues to our business and wethink the combination will continue to grow very strongly. The rangeof technologies we now have to offer is really unsurpassed in the fieldin terms of breadth and the leading-edge position."John Gilmartin, Millipore's chairman and CEO, said, "The acquisitionby PerSeptive Biosystems is an excellent strategic and organizationalmatch. They serve the same leading-edge scientists with differentiatedchemistries and instrument systems. Biosearch offers complementaryand innovative technology to PerSeptive, as well as internationaldistribution and manufacturing."Finally, for Millipore, our goal is to increase shareholder value andimprove sales and earnings growth rates," Gilmartin said. "Focusing onone strategic business rather than three is already helping us achievethat objective." n

-- Jim Shrine

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