Univercells Technologies Acquired by Donaldson Company

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Jun 30, 2023, 02:00 ET

MENLO PARK, Calif., June 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gamma Biosciences, a life sciences platform created by global investment firm KKR to address the advanced therapy bioprocessing market, today announced that its operating company, Univercells Technologies ("UT"), a leading provider of novel biomanufacturing technologies for flexible and scalable advanced therapies and vaccine production, has been acquired by Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE: DCI).

Donaldson is a leading worldwide provider of innovative filtration products and solutions. The deal follows several recent acquisitions by Donaldson in the field of bioprocessing, including Solaris Biotechnology, Purilogics and Isolere Bio. UT's single-use bioreactor systems and integrated biomanufacturing platforms, focused on the production of viruses used in cell and gene therapy, viral vaccines and other therapeutics, will add to Donaldson's growing offering in life sciences.

"I am proud of the achievements of our team during this journey with Univercells and Gamma Biosciences, as we ramped-up our development, production and service capabilities and continued to innovate and launch novel products," said Mathias Garny, CEO of UT. "We are now looking forward to this new era with Donaldson to further strengthen our market position and deliver robust, end-to-end biomanufacturing solutions to our customers as they advance towards commercialization of advanced therapies and vaccines."

"We are delighted that UT will join Donaldson as it expands its presence in biomanufacturing, leveraging its legacy of filtration technology leadership" said Matt Gunnison, CEO of Gamma Biosciences. "UT has developed a best-in-class platform for efficient manufacturing of gene therapies and vaccines and will be well positioned as part of the larger Donaldson organization to support the market going forward."

Gamma Biosciences first invested in UT in June 2020 and has worked closely with the company to fund the development, manufacture and commercialization of the scale-X^™ and NevoLine^™ product lines, which are based on the company's novel structured, fixed-bed design for high-density adherent and suspension cell culture.

According to the terms of the transaction, Donaldson acquired all outstanding shares of the business from Gamma and its fellow shareholder, Univercells SA, for approximately €136M in cash net of debt. Rothschild & Co acted as financial advisor to Univercells Technologies. Sidley Austin LLP and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP acted as legal advisors to Gamma and Univercells, respectively.

About Gamma Biosciences
Gamma Biosciences is a life sciences tools platform created by KKR. Gamma's mission is to support leading players in next-generation bioprocessing for advanced therapies by acquiring or investing in high-potential businesses with outstanding technology and accelerating their growth.

About Donaldson Company, Inc.
Founded in 1915, Donaldson (NYSE: DCI) is a global leader in technology-led filtration products and solutions, serving a broad range of industries and advanced markets. Our diverse, skilled employees at over 140 locations on six continents partner with customers—from small business owners to the world's biggest OEM brands—to solve complex filtration challenges. Discover how Donaldson is Advancing Filtration for a Cleaner World at www.Donaldson.com.

About Univercells Technologies
Univercells Technologies is a global provider of innovative biomanufacturing technologies to achieve cost-effective advanced therapies and vaccines production from R&D to commercial scales. The Company offers a comprehensive technology portfolio leveraging the strengths of process intensification and chaining as a direct answer to the growing demand of viral vectors and viral vaccines. Univercells Technologies is committed to helping customers increase performance with minimized footprint and costs today, while anticipating the needs of tomorrow.

SOURCE Gamma Biosciences