If I had any clue as to what Jones was worth, I could say whether or not I like this. But I don't have any clue. The good news is that the munch is expected to be quickly accretive to earnings, and that the cash won't have to be paid all at once. But, of course, there are going to be some options . . .
>>FOSTER CITY, Calif. & CARDIFF, Wales--(BW HealthWire)--Feb. 11, 2002--Argonaut Technologies (AGNT)
Combination creates global provider of solutions for chemistry development;
Triples Argonaut's chemistry consumables sales;
Triples Argonaut's European business.
Argonaut Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:AGNT - news) today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Jones Chromatography Limited (including its subsidiaries: International Sorbent Technology Limited and Jones Chromatography Incorporated), a privately held chemistry consumables and instrumentation company (Jones Group) headquartered in Cardiff, Wales, UK. Completion of the transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to close by the end of February.
The Jones Group is a leading manufacturer and distributor of high quality chromatography and purification accessories, consumables and instrumentation. Consumable items include leading brand sorbents, solid phase extraction (SPE) columns and 96-well plates, flash chromatography and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) columns. It manufactures purification and other chemistry development instruments for the drug discovery market.
``We are excited by the exceptional opportunities facing our combined enterprise,'' stated Lissa A. Goldenstein, president and chief executive officer of Argonaut. ``Together we have the technical and managerial leadership, strategic focus and global critical mass to best meet the challenges facing chemists at life science and chemical companies. We now will offer an unparalleled array of solutions to meet the needs of chemists at every stage of chemistry synthesis, work-up and purification.''
``This combination brings together Argonaut's leading edge chemistry synthesis solutions with our extensive portfolio of sample preparation and purification products,'' commented W. Colin Jones, chairman and chief executive officer of Jones Chromatography Ltd. ``With the full power of our combined sales forces, we believe that we can accelerate our adoption rates at life science and chemical companies worldwide and broaden the use of our products to all phases of chemical discovery and development.''
``With the Jones Group, we now will have a significant direct presence in the United Kingdom, a network of dealers throughout the world, and the opportunity to leverage our US salesforce,'' continued Goldenstein. ``This combination effectively triples Argonaut's chemistry consumables business with products that are complementary to those we already are providing the marketplace. Our revenue mix will now shift to more than 40 percent of our revenues coming from chemistry consumable sales. We believe that the benefits of this more predictable revenue mix coupled with global critical mass will allow us to accelerate our path to profitability.''
Argonaut intends to acquire the Jones Group in a merger accounted for as a purchase for approximately $18 million with ninety percent payable in cash and the remainder payable in unregistered shares of Argonaut's common stock. Argonaut will also issue options to purchase Argonaut's common stock to certain employees of the Jones Group immediately following the closing of the transaction. The first third of the cash and all of the common stock is payable at the closing. The remainder of the cash is payable over the next two years. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to Argonaut's earnings in 2002. Upon completion of the merger, the Jones Group will be operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Argonaut. The company has approximately 118 employees worldwide with the majority located in the United Kingdom. It operates two manufacturing plants in Wales totaling approximately 50,000 square feet.
Conference Call Details
Argonaut will host a conference call tomorrow, Tuesday February 12, 2002 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific/ 5:00 p.m. Eastern to discuss its year end 2001 financial results, the specifics of this acquisition and the outlook for 2002. Those wishing to listen to the call can access it by going to the Investor Relations section of our website at www.argotech.com; a replay will also be available until February 19, 2002. For those unable to participate on the live call, a 24-hour replay will be available for seven days after the call at www.argotech.com or by calling 866/219-1444 and giving the following passcode: 1513019.
About The Jones Group
Headquartered near Cardiff, Wales, UK, Jones Chromatography Ltd. was founded in 1967 and is today a leading manufacturer and distributor of chromatography and purification accessories, consumables and instruments. Jones Chromatography Ltd. and its subsidiaries' products are used for drug discovery, biological and biochemical research, clinical studies, environmental and applied research in the pharmaceutical, CRO, agrochemical and food industries. The company has recently won a Government Commitment To Innovation Award, and also has received the coveted Queen's Award For Export. With offices in the USA & Malaysia, plus a network of international distributors, the Jones Group's products are available on a global basis.<<
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Cheers, Tuck |
