SD Biosensor Acquires US In Vitro Diagnostics Company 'Meridian' for 2 Trillion KRW

Largest Acquisition Scale in Domestic Pharmaceutical Bio Industry
Including Gastrointestinal Disease Diagnostic Platform
Possessing North American Distribution Network and FDA Approval Capability
Investment with SJL Partners at a 60:40 Ratio

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] SD Biosensor announced on the 8th that it will acquire the US in vitro diagnostics company Meridian Bioscience through a merger and acquisition (M&A) worth approximately 2 trillion KRW. This is the largest acquisition amount in the domestic pharmaceutical and bio industry, and together with the private equity firm SJL Partners, SD Biosensor will secure 100% of Meridian's shares.

Meridian, established in 1976, is an in vitro diagnostics company. It produces raw materials for pharmaceutical and bio products and diagnostic reagents along with platforms for immunodiagnostics, molecular diagnostics, respiratory diagnostics, and blood diagnostics. It is evaluated to have strengths in diagnostic platforms for gastrointestinal infections such as Helicobacter pylori and colitis bacteria, which are part of its diagnostics business.

This M&A is planned with SD Biosensor acquiring 60% and SJL Partners 40%. Both companies will jointly invest in a US corporation, and the subsidiary of this US corporation will merge with Meridian, completing the final acquisition.

SD Biosensor plans to use Meridian's North American distribution network as a foothold to enter major global markets. Synergy effects with production bases are also expected. SD Biosensor's production bases are located in Korea, India, Indonesia, and Brazil, while Meridian's production bases are in the US, Germany, the UK, and Canada, and they plan to additionally utilize these for local production.

They also expect this acquisition to help accelerate approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Meridian has registered eight products with the FDA in the past five years. Since Meridian has regulatory affairs (RA) experts with extensive FDA registration experience, it is expected to play a role in accelerating the FDA approval of SD Biosensor's products in the US.

Jo Young-sik, Chairman of SD Biosensor, said, "We expect to show the best synergy by cooperating with Meridian's key management along with SJL Partners," adding, "Through SD Biosensor's R&D capabilities and mass production know-how, Meridian's North American sales network and FDA regulatory capabilities, and SJL Partners' human resource management expertise, we will become a 'Top 3' player in the global point-of-care diagnostics market, including the US."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.