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Roche acquires 454 Life Sciences to strengthen presence in ultra-fast gene sequencing

02 Apr 2007 - Roche and CuraGen announced that they have signed a definitive agreement under which Roche will acquire 100% of 454 Life Sciences, a majority-owned subsidiary of CuraGen Corporation, active in high-throughput DNA sequencing. Under the terms of the agreement, Roche will pay 454 Life Sciences' shareholders USD 140 million in cash. In addition to the payment from Roche, 454 Life Sciences' shareholders may receive up to USD 14.9 million in cash from the holders of currently outstanding stock options and warrants if these are exercised.
 
454 Life Sciences and Roche have an existing research and marketing collaboration under which Roche Diagnostics is the exclusive worldwide distributor of the Genome Sequencer systems based on 454 Life Science's ultrafast 454 Sequencing technology. This acquisition will give Roche Diagnostics access to 454's future generations of sequencing products and the use of 454 Sequencing for in-vitro diagnostic applications.
 
454 Life Sciences as part of Roche Diagnostics will continue to provide sequencing systems to the markets. Roche plans to maintain the 454 Life Sciences facility in Branford, Connecticut with its 167 employees as a fully integrated part of the Roche Diagnostics organization. This transaction is subject to certain closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Approval by CuraGen or Roche shareholders is not required for the transaction to be consummated.