Sequenom, Inc. Reports Sale Of Bioscience Business

SAN DIEGO, May 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Sequenom, Inc. SQNM, a life sciences company providing innovative genetic analysis solutions, today announced that it has completed the sale of its Bioscience business to Agena Bioscience, a portfolio company of Telegraph Hill Partners.

The terms of the agreement provide for a purchase price of $31.8 million, subject to certain adjustments, and Sequenom may also receive up to $4 million in contingent consideration upon the achievement of certain regulatory and sales milestones. Agena Bioscience also assumed certain liabilities related to the Bioscience business, which does not include any portion of Sequenom's bank debt or convertible notes outstanding. The facility lease for its Bioscience location in San Diego was also assumed by Agena Bioscience. All of the current Bioscience employees will be offered employment by Agena Bioscience. 

"We are pleased to sell the business to Agena Bioscience and Telegraph Hill Partners as they plan to invest in the growth of the Bioscience business to achieve its full potential. This sale strengthens our balance sheet, and will enable us to focus exclusively on our Sequenom Laboratories business as we work toward achieving profitability," said Harry F. Hixson, Jr., Chairman and CEO of Sequenom. 

The acquired business will continue to manufacture and sell the MassARRAY^® System, a proprietary mass spectrometry-based genetic analysis instrument and associated products and services that provide research and clinical investigators with economical high multiplexing, high volume results, and precise quantification in a well-established platform technology. The UltraSEEK™ chemistry, used on the MassARRAY System, will be featured at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago, May 30 – June 3, 2014. UltraSEEK enables ultrasensitive somatic mutation detection in plasma at <1%, providing a pivotal clinical research tool for circulating tumor DNA and liquid biopsy approaches.    Agena Bioscience plans to expand the business' product portfolio, address new diagnostic market opportunities and broaden its global reach.

Jefferies LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to Sequenom in connection with this transaction.

About Sequenom
Sequenom, Inc. SQNM is a life sciences company committed to improving healthcare through revolutionary genomic and genetic analysis solutions. Sequenom develops innovative technology, products and diagnostic tests that target and serve molecular diagnostic markets. Website: http://www.sequenom.com/. 

Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including statements regarding the Company's potential to receive contingent consideration in connection with the achievement of certain regulatory and sales milestones, future offers of employment, the expected activities of the acquired business and the plans of the new owners, the Company's expectations and ability to focus exclusively on its Sequenom Laboratories business and work towards achieving profitability, and the Company's commitment to improving healthcare through revolutionary genomic and genetic analysis solutions, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's reliance on the buyer to achieve the regulatory and sales milestones, market demand for and acceptance and use of the Company's technology and laboratory developed tests, reliance upon the collaborative efforts of other parties such as, without limitation, healthcare providers, international distributors and licensees, the Company or third parties obtaining or maintaining regulatory approvals that impact the Company's business, government regulation particularly with respect to diagnostic products and laboratory developed tests, publication processes, the performance of designed product enhancements, the Company's ability to develop and commercialize technologies and products, particularly new technologies such as noninvasive prenatal diagnostics, laboratory developed tests, the Company's financial position, the timing and amount of reimbursement that Sequenom Laboratories receives from payors for its laboratory developed tests, the Company's ability to manage its existing cash resources or raise additional cash resources, competition, intellectual property protection and intellectual property rights of others, litigation involving the Company, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's most recently filed reports on Form 8-K, and its most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K/A and 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, and other documents subsequently filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are based on current information that may change and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the issuance of this press release.

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SOURCE Sequenom, Inc.