Invitrogen to buy reagents company for $325m

Invitrogen has made a cash offer for fellow US company Molecular Probes in a deal which would give the firm a very strong presence in fluorescence reagents for use in labelling molecules for biological research and drug discovery.

Invitrogen is paying $325 million for the company, but expects the deal to add to its earnings in 2003 and make a "substantial" the following year. Molecular Probes had revenues of $56 million in 2002, and expects turnover to rise to $66 million this year.

Greg Lucier, Invitrogen's president and chief executive, said that the deal "will broaden our technology base in proteomics, providing critical tools for discovery research and the accurate determination of protein function​". The company specialises in enzymes, cloning systems, and protein analysis tools.

This is the second acquisition for Invitrogen this year. In February, it bought PanVera's biochemical and cellular assay capabilities, as well as its commercial portfolio of proprietary reagents, probes and proteins, from Vertex Pharmaceuticals for $95 million in cash.