PerkinElmer (Waltham, MA, USA) and Horizon Discovery (Cambridge, UK) have announced an agreement whereby PerkinElmer will acquire Horizon for approximately $383 million (£296 million). The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.
Horizon is a leading provider of CRISPR and RNAi reagents, cell models, cell engineering and base editing offerings which help scientists better understand gene function, genetic disease drivers and biotherapeutics delivery. Horizon has approximately 400 employees across multiple countries, including the UK, the US and Japan and reported revenue from continuing operations of $75.5 million (£58.3 million) in 2019.
With this investment, PerkinElmer will expand its portfolio of leading, automated life sciences discovery and applied genomics solutions to include gene editing and gene modulation tools.
Commenting on the agreement, Prahlad Singh, President and CEO, PerkinElmer said, “We’re excited to team up with Horizon to not only add CRISPR and RNAi capabilities into our existing portfolio, but also to leverage our combined life sciences screening and applied genomics solutions to help propel the next phase of cell and gene research for precision medicine. ”