PARIS & CODOLET, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The funds managed by Argos Soditic announce the acquisition, together with the management, of Cisbio Bioassays. This cutting-edge biotechnology company is the leader in the field of products and services for human in vitro diagnostics and pharmaceutical research.

Through this Management Buy-Out (MBO) operation Cisbio Bioassays becomes independent, with its spin-off departure from the Belgian group IBA.

The acquisition represents a major step forward in the history of Cisbio Bioassays. The company’s 25 years of experience have given it a recognized position as a major player in the world of diagnostics and biotechnologies. The arrival of Argos Soditic opens up prospects for strategic growth, and will enable the company to strengthen its market positions. Confident in Cisbio Bioassays' assets, Argos Soditic is accompanying the management team in implementing its strategic plan, focused on innovation, the launching of new products and international development.

"Cisbio Bioassays is an innovative company, recognized for the quality of its services and products. It has the advantage of a remarkable international exposure, with over 85% of its turnover coming from outside France. The outstanding qualities of the management team, as well as the excellent company culture throughout Cisbio, have been crucial points in this takeover and in the implementation of a spin-off operation which proved to be particularly complex,” declared Gilles Lorang, a partner in Argos Soditic.

"We unanimously welcome the participation of Argos-Soditic in our MBO," added Berthold Baldus, Cisbio Bioassays' CEO. "With their more than 20 years of investment experience, proven success with their funds, and their highly dedicated team, we feel well supported in reaching for our goal to be a recognized global leader in specialized diagnostic biomarkers and innovative solutions for the discovery of new therapeutic drugs."

About Cisbio Bioassays (www.cisbio.com)

Cisbio Bioassays develops and markets products and technologies used for in vitro diagnostics and drug discovery. With its proprietary technology, HTRF^®, the company is a leader in homogeneous fluorescence detection methods, and offers first class assays and services for drug discovery researchers. In addition, Cisbio Bioassays provides a broad range of immunoassays for in vitro diagnostics, mainly tailored for cancerous pathologies, as well as metabolic and auto-immune diseases.

Based in Codolet, France, Cisbio Bioassays owns facilities in Bedford, MA, U.S.A., and Shanghai, China, and markets its global offer through a network of distributors. The group employs 200 people worldwide for a 35 M€ turnover.

About Argos Soditic (www.argos-soditic.com)

Argos Soditic is an independent European private equity group with offices in Paris, Milan, Brussels and Geneva. Since its creation in 1989, Argos Soditic has carried out more than 50 transactions focusing on management buy-outs and buy-ins in small and medium-sized companies. Argos Soditic typically takes majority stakes ranging from 5 to 60M€ in companies with revenues of 20 to 400M€.

With 675M€ under management, the firm has developed a track record of unusual, complex and off-market transactions where the firm’s combination of local presence and international experience is able to add value to the small and medium-sized businesses it invests in.

Advisors:

• Kramer Levin Naftalis and Frankel (Christophe Gaschin, Ramona Tudorancea, Severine Gallet, Fabienne Arrighi, Stanislas Marmion)
• Taylor Wessing (Laurence Lapeyre)
• Strategy: Alcimed (Cyril Duriez, Remi Masson Regnault, Nadege Penhaleux, Nathanaelle Cellier)
• Financial plan: Axonia Partners (Nicolas Viviano)
• Financial Audit: KPMG (Olivier Boumendil, Emmanuel Ducrocq)
• Tax Audit: Cabinet Arsene Taxand. (Franck Chaminade, Emilie Foy, Laurent Mamou, Marion Dervieux)
• Insurance: ACBS (François de Sailly), SCIACI (Christine Rivoalan)
• Intellectual property: Cabinet Regimbeau (Frédérique Faivre-Petit, Nicolas Bouquin)
• Regulatory affairs: Voisin Consulting (Sylvie le Gledic, Patrick Larcier)
• Information technology & systems: Vinci It Partners (Gregory Dubourdieu)

Sale advisors:

• M&A: ING Corporate Finance, Bruxelles (Stéphane Rouvez)
• Linklaters (Arnaud Coibion, Anca Sarbovan)