LONDON, UK: Novacyt UK Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Novacyt S.A., has made an offer to take-over Yourgene Health plc at the rate of 0.522 pence in cash per Yourgene share. The acquisition values the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Yourgene at approximately £16.7 million.

The boards of Novacyt and Novacyt UK believe that the Acquisition strongly aligns with Novacyt’s post-COVID-19 strategy, set out by Novacyt in early 2022, which was focussed on the twin objectives of portfolio development and geographic expansion and included pursuing strategic M&A transactions to build scale and diversification to support the long-term growth of the business. For this reason, the boards of Novacyt and Novacyt UK therefore believe there is a compelling strategic and financial rationale for the Acquisition.

The Enlarged Group is expected to create a more scaled, diversified operator in the diagnostics sector. The Acquisition combines highly complementary technologies and services, with the Enlarged Group able to leverage mutual research and development capabilities for ongoing product development and portfolio enhancement to improve the customer offering.

The diagnostics industry, in which both Novacyt and Yourgene operate, is highly competitive, with multiple scale competitors. Continuing to invest in research and development to develop Yourgene’s service and product offering over the long term requires highly targeted continued investment, which the combination of the two groups will facilitate, through utilisation of combined capital resources and commercial infrastructure.

Novacyt considers that customers will benefit significantly from the combination, driven by the complementary suite of diagnostic products and services of the two groups. This will enable the delivery of more integrated solutions through the efficient pooling of resources.

Novacyt believes that Yourgene’s core NIPT offering and PCR portfolio has significant growth potential that can be further accelerated by the significant resources and investment that Novacyt can provide, given its strong financial position.

James McCarthy, acting Chief Executive Officer of Novacyt, said: “We are delighted to announce this recommended offer for Yourgene. We regard Yourgene as a highly respected company with a world class team of employees that offers differentiated solutions to customers. We consider Novacyt and Yourgene to be highly complementary and expect the combination of the two businesses to benefit stakeholders of both Novacyt and Yourgene.”

Lyn Rees, Chief Executive Officer of Yourgene, said: “The Board of Yourgene welcome the offer from Novacyt UK. The prospect and scale of what the new enlarged group could bring to our customers, employees and other stakeholders is exciting given the complimentary fit of both businesses. Whilst the two companies work within the same molecular diagnostic space, they both bring distinctive strengths and are focused in different market segments, which opens up further opportunities for growth.”

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