Arrowpoint Advisory sells Lab21's blood bank business to Trinity Biotech
Arrowpoint Advisory's Healthcare sector team has advised Lab21 Ltd on the sale of its blood bank screening business to Trinity Biotech plc.
Backed by high-profile healthcare entrepreneur and investor Professor Sir Christopher Evans OBE PhD'sExcalibur Group, Lab21 is a personalised medicine diagnostic specialist supporting healthcare providers, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries with technically advanced products and services.
The blood bank screening business acquired by Trinity sells best-in-class products for screening for syphilis and malaria; the syphilis product enjoys 75% market share in blood bank markets in the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium.
Due to funding difficulties in Lab21, the company asked Arrowpoint Advisory to explore strategic options. Working closely with their Debt Advisory colleagues, Arrowpoint Advisory's Healthcare team concluding that the sale of the blood bank screening business offered the best way to bring additional liquidity in to Lab21, while allowing it to focus on the opportunities in the higher-growth personalised medicine segment through its specialism in companion diagnostics.
Kevin Tansley, Trinity's CFO, explained: “The acquisition of the Lab21 blood bank business represents a perfect strategic fit for Trinity€¦To date the Lab21 business has concentrated on the European blood bank screening market, where through excellent product quality they have taken a dominant share in the larger markets such as the UK, France and Germany. Trinity will concentrate on leveraging this position to enter other markets whilst at the same time targeting the US market through strategic partner relationships. Although Trinity is in no way seeking acquisitions, the Lab21 opportunity was compelling.”
Daniel Domberger, Managing Director at Arrowpoint Advisory, commented: “We are delighted to have helped Lab21 address its funding difficulties. With its strategic focus now firmly on companion diagnostics and personalised medicine it is in a much stronger position to continue to grow. As Kevin has explained, the strategic fit with Trinity is excellent, and we expect the blood bank screening business to continue to flourish under their ownership.”
Patrick Groarke, Managing Director at Arrowpoint Advisory, added: “We have known Lab21's management team for a long time and this successful transaction is another good example of our relationship-led approach.”
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