Ad hoc: MorphoSys Acquires Serotec Group to Strengthen Global Research Antibody Business

MorphoSys AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) today announced the acquisition of privately held Serotec group. The acquisition of Serotec more than triples MorphoSys' existing Research Antibody Segment revenues and establishes the Company as the leading dedicated supplier of research antibodies and antibody research technologies in Europe. The purchase price of approximately GBP 20 million (approx. EUR 29.3 million) will be paid via approximately GPB 14 million (approx EUR 20.5 million) cash and through the issuance of 208,560 new MorphoSys shares from a capital increase against contribution in kind. Serotec provides MorphoSys with a strong distribution network including subsidiaries and sales offices in the U.S., U.K., Germany, France and Scandinavia. It is intended that Serotec becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of MorphoSys AG and integrated with MorphoSys' existing research antibody business represented to date by the Biogenesis and Antibodies by Design units.

 

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About Serotec:
Serotec was founded in 1982 with the aim to provide antibodies developed in laboratories quickly to researchers worldwide. As research areas change, Serotec is able to provide the latest reagents through its extensive distribution network, to clients throughout the world. The company headquarters are situated in Oxford, UK. Serotec has become one of the world's leading antibody manufacturers. The company has subsidiaries in the USA, Germany, France, Scandinavia and is now supplying researchers directly in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg supplemented by a wide network of international distributors ensuring prompt delivery, and the highest standards of technical and sales support. For further information please visit the corporate website at: http://www.serotec.com/.

 

About MorphoSys:
MorphoSys develops and applies innovative technologies for the production of synthetic antibodies which accelerate drug discovery and target characterization. Founded in 1992, the Company's proprietary Human Combinatorial Antibody Library (HuCAL®) technology is used by researchers worldwide for human antibody generation. The Company currently has licensing agreements and/or research collaborations with Bayer (Berkeley, California/USA), Boehringer Ingelheim (Ingelheim, Germany), Bristol-Myers Squibb (New Jersey/USA), Centocor Inc. (Malvern, Pennsylvania/USA), GPC Biotech AG (Munich/Germany), Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Basel/Switzerland), ImmunoGen Inc. (Cambridge, Massachusetts/USA), Merck & Co., Inc. (New Jersey/USA), Novartis AG (Basel, Switzerland), Novoplant GmbH (Gatersleben, Germany), Pfizer Inc. (Delaware/USA), ProChon Biotech Ltd. (Rehovot/Israel), Schering AG (Berlin/Germany), Shionogi & Co., Ltd. (Osaka/Japan), Xoma Ltd. (Berkeley, California/USA) and others. Additionally, MorphoSys is active in the antibody research market through its Antibodies by Design business unit. Antibodies by Design was founded in 2003 for the purpose of exploiting the MorphoSys non-therapeutic antibody markets. MorphoSys' activities in the research antibody segment were significantly strengthened through the acquisition of the U.K. and U.S.-based Biogenesis Group in January 2005.  For further information please visit the corporate website at: http://www.morphosys.com/.