Biolin Scientific acquires Sophion Bioscience

2011-07-06

This information is disclosed in accordance with the Securities Markets Act, the
    Financial Instruments Trading Act or demands made in the exchange rules.

Ratos's subsidiary Biolin Scientific has signed an agreement to acquire all the
shares in the Danish company Sophion Bioscience A/S. The seller is NeuroSearch
A/S and a number of venture capital companies. The purchase price (Enterprise
Value) amounts to approximately DKK 145m with an additional DKK 10m which
relates to sales milestones in 2011/12. Ratos will provide approximately SEK
50m in conjunction with the acquisition.
Sophion Bioscience is a Danish manufacturer of products and solutions for
automated patch clamping (APC) and sells instruments, test plates and service.
APC technology is used for studies of ion channels. This is a growing area
within pharmaceutical research since the way ion channels function has a major
impact on many diseases. Patch clamping technology was awarded the Nobel Prize
in Medicine in 1991.
Sophion Bioscience is the market leader within its segment and customers include
most major pharmaceutical companies. The company has 50 employees and global
sales through its own sales team and distributors. The head office is in
Copenhagen. In 2010 Sophion's sales totalled DKK 83m with an operating profit
(EBITA) of DKK 8m.
Biolin Scientific develops, manufactures and markets analytical instruments for
research, development, quality control and clinical diagnostics. The company's
largest market niche is nanotechnology, primarily materials science and
biophysics. Customers are found worldwide and mainly comprise researchers in
academia, research institutes and the industrial sector. In 2010 Biolin's sales
totalled SEK 142m with an operating profit of SEK 12m.
"Biolin's strength thus far has been within material science at the same time as
we have made efforts to increase our presence within life science. Due to
Sophion's strong position within life science we will now be able to reach new
customer groups. Sophion has good growth and a growing installed base of
instruments which promotes sales of consumables," comments Biolin Scientific's
CEO Jan Wahlström.
"We have a clear acquisition strategy for Biolin and have now completed an
agreement with one of the companies at the top of our list," says Ratos's CEO
Arne Karlsson.
The purchase price for the acquisition (Enterprise Value) amounts to
approximately DKK 145m (SEK 175m) with the possibility of an additional DKK 10m
which relates to sales milestones in 2011/12. Ratos will provide approximately
SEK 50m. The acquisition is expected to be completed during the third quarter of
2011.
For further information, please contact:
Arne Karlsson, CEO Ratos, +46 8 700 17 00
Jan Wahlström, CEO Biolin Scientific, +46 732 323 926
Emma Rheborg, Head of Corporate Communications and IR Ratos, +46 733 80 22 63
Financial calendar from Ratos:
Interim Report January - June 2011      19 August 2011
Interim Report January - September 2011 9 November 2011

Ratos is a private equity conglomerate. The company's mission is to maximise
shareholder value over time through the professional, active and responsible
exercise of its ownership role in primarily medium to large unlisted Nordic
companies. Ratos's holdings include AH Industries, Anticimex, Arcus-Gruppen,
Biolin Scientific, Bisnode, Contex, DIAB, EuroMaint, Finnkino, GS-Hydro, Hafa
Bathroom Group, HL Display, Inwido, Jøtul, KVD Kvarndammen, Lindab, Medisize,
Mobile Climate Control, SB Seating and Stofa. Ratos is listed on Nasdaq OMX
Stockholm, and its market capitalisation is approximately SEK 39 billion.