BioLife will obtain all of the outstanding shares of Sexton that it doesn’t already own for $24 million in consideration for 506,382 newly issued shares of BioLife common stock.
BioLife Solutions CEO Mike Rice pictured above. (Todd Williamson/Getty Images)
Bothell, Washington-based BioLife Solutions is acquiring Indianapolis-based Sexton Biotechnologies. BioLife will obtain all of the outstanding shares of Sexton that it doesn’t already own for $24 million in consideration for 506,382 newly issued shares of BioLife common stock.
Sexton provides products and services to companies working on cell and gene therapies. These products include cryogenic vials, tube-sealing systems, and storage containers. On March 26, 2021, Sexton partnered with Hitech Health and Med Institute on flexible automation for cell and gene therapy manufacturers. It was based on the company’s launch of its Signata CT-5, a flexible fluid management system. In 2019, Sexton spun out of Cook Regentec, a life science incubator/accelerator in Indianapolis.
The company’s portfolio includes Proprietary CellSeal closed vials; nLiven PR, T-Liven PR and Stemulate human platelet lysase (HPL) media products; AF-500 Automated filling device for high-throughput fill and finish of intermediate and final cell therapy products; and Signata CT-5.
“As a significant shareholder of Sexton since their spinout from Cook Regentec in 2019, we’ve been closely following Sean Werner and the Sexton team’s great execution and progress,” said Mike Rice, chief executive officer of BioLife.
“The business is at an inflection point and their products are highly complementary to our portfolio, enabling BioLife to strengthen relationships with our marquee base of cell and gene therapy developers. We welcome the Sexton team to BioLife and look forward to leveraging our respective strengths to accelerate growth across our platforms.”
BioLife manufactures and sells bioproduct tools and services to the cell and gene therapy and biopharma markets, so the acquisition of Sexton makes total sense. Its products include CryoStor and HypoThermosol media, ULT and Cryogenic storage, cold chain management and other products and services.
On May 3, BioLife announced it had closed on an acquisition of Stirling Ultracold, a manufacturer of ultra-low temperature (ULT) mechanical freezers.
BioLife indicates it expects to keep all Sexton staffers and the current facility in downtown Indianapolis.
“Sexton’s cell processing platform is novel and has the potential to disrupt traditional cell therapy manufacturing workflows by improving quality and efficiency while consolidating several processing steps,” said Aby J. Mathew, executive vice president and chief scientific officer at BioLife. “Their tools are synergistic with our portfolio and are supported by a growing body of literature that highlights the benefits of using Sexton’s solutions.”
BioLife also believes the acquisition has numerous cross-selling opportunities and plans to leverage its global sales team. Sexton has a five-person sales team and, in addition to continuing to sell Sexton products, will add BioLife products to their sales portfolio.
BioLife projects the acquisition will add earnings of about $2 million to this year’s bottom line based on the expected closing date of September 1. BioLife’s total revenue is estimated to be $108 million to $117 million, including the Sexton sales, which are projected to be $8 million for the year.
Sean Werner, president of Sexton, will be chief technology officer – Cell Processing Platform at BioLife upon closing, stated, “This is a great day for the Sexton team and our shareholders. BioLife has been a key investor and critical supporter of our mission. Our corporate cultures are highly aligned, and we look forward to joining BioLife’s growing team and continuing to drive adoption of our cell and gene therapy bioproduction tools.”
