Becton Dickinson To Acquire Clontech

Becton Dickinson and Co. (Franklin Lakes, NJ) will acquire Clontech Laboratories Inc. (Palo Alto, CA) in a stock-for-stock exchange valued at approximately $200 million. The transaction will be completed by June 30, after the necessary consents and approvals.

Clontech Laboratories is a private company specializing in gene-based drug discovery technology and molecular biology research. It has 330 employees in offices in Heidelberg, Germany; Basingstoke, U.K.; and Tokyo, Japan. Its 1998 revenues were $47.8 million.

"The acquisition of Clontech is part of our worldwide business strategy to significantly expand our presence and impact in the growing areas of molecular biology-based life science research and drug discovery," said Deborah Neff, worldwide president, BD Biosciences (BDB; San Jose, CA).

"We believe that the merger will allow us to greatly expand the customer base and applications for our key technologies and products. BD's leadership position in the clinical and diagnostic markets will offer us an exciting opportunity to leverage our research tools and technologies to address these areas as well," said Kenneth Fong, Clontech's founder and president.