German Sartorius takes over 9.1% of shares and 7.6% of votes in BICO

The Board of Directors of BICO Group – the leading manufacturer of 3D bioprinters in the world – took advantage of the authorization granted by the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of the company to issue 6,408,626 series B shares (“New Shares”), which corresponds to ten percent of the shares outstanding before the transaction, by directing them to Sartorius AG. The Sartorius Group, headquartered in Göttingen, Germany, is an international company operating in the life sciences research and biopharmaceutical industries. The company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and has a market capitalization of approximately EUR 23 billion.

With innovative laboratory instruments and consumables, the Sartorius Group’s laboratory products and services division focuses on meeting the needs of research and quality control laboratories in pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies and academic research institutes. Bioprocess Solutions, with its broad product portfolio focused on single-use solutions, helps customers safely and efficiently manufacture biotech drugs and vaccines.

The group grows on average in double digits every year and regularly expands its portfolio with acquisitions of complementary technologies. In fiscal year 2021, Sartorius generated sales revenue of approximately €3.45 billion. At the end of 2021, it employed nearly 14,000 people in 60 production and trading plants serving customers around the world.

“BICO and Sartorius’ strategic partnership will significantly expand our presence and accelerate growth in the Asia-Pacific region, where BICO has significant expansion potential today. BICO will gain access to complementary technologies and products that will enrich the offer for customers in the field of bioprinting and laboratory automation,” said Erik Gatenholm, CEO and co-founder of BICO.

The subscription price for the Share Issue was SEK 76.00, which corresponds to a premium of 2.7% compared to the volume-weighted average price over the last three trading days for BICO Class B shares on Nasdaq Stockholm. Through the share issue, BICO will receive gross proceeds of approximately SEK 487 million before transaction costs, and upon settlement, Sartorius will take ownership of approximately 9.1% of the shares and 7.6% of the voting rights in BICO. Added to Sartorius’ already existing stake in BICO, the total ownership will be approximately 10.1% of the shares and 8.5% of the voting rights.

In connection with the Shares Issue, BICO and Sartorius agreed on comprehensive technological, sales and marketing cooperation. As part of the partnership, the two companies will establish research and development cooperation related to cell bioprinting and related technologies, as well as digital solutions for cell line development processes. In addition, it was agreed that Sartorius would become the distributor of BICO products in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

Source: www.bico.com