The life science group Sartorius, through its French listed subgroup Sartorius Stedim Biotech, has agreed to acquire 100 percent of Albumedix Ltd. from private investors. The Nottingham, UK-based company provides best-in-class recombinant albumin-based solutions. Recombinant human albumin is an important component for the biopharmaceutical industry required for various applications, for example as an animal-free additive to cell culture media and for the stabilization of vaccines and viral therapies. The business, founded in 1984, has more than 100 employees and is expected to generate revenue of approximately £33 million in 2022 with a significant double-digit EBITDA margin. The agreed purchase price amounts to approximately £415 million. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close before the end of the third quarter of 2022.

“Albumedix will be an important addition to Sartorius’ advanced therapy solutions, particularly regarding our cell culture media business, as it will enable us to strengthen our position as a relevant supplier of innovative chemically defined media and critical ancillary materials. This market offers high growth potential due to the increasing regulatory requirements as well as rising demand for the use of recombinant human albumin in near-patient applications. Albumedix will also add important formulation excipients to our vaccine production solutions, allowing us to expand our existing customer relationships and forge new ones,” said René Fáber, member of the Executive Board for the Bioprocess Solutions Division of Sartorius.

“We are delighted to be joining forces with Sartorius and look forward to accelerating our ambitious growth plans in delivering critical solutions to our global customers. We have been highly impressed with Sartorius’ knowledge and capabilities in the bioprocessing markets, and we are excited to join this purposeful journey. We believe Sartorius will bring tremendous value in strengthening our market reach and broadening our innovation capacity, as well as significantly scaling up our existing platform. We remain focused on our promise of empowering excellence in the life science industry,” said Jonas S. Møller, CEO of Albumedix.

Albumedix will be part of the Bioprocess Solutions Division, and the existing 72,000-square-foot site in Nottingham will be established as a center of excellence for innovation and GMP-compliant production of critical raw materials.

Milbank LLP provided legal counsel to Sartorius in this transaction. William Blair acted as financial advisor to Albumedix, and Eversheds Sutherland provided legal counsel.