EXHIBIT 99.1
BIO-TECHNE ANNOUNCES INVESTMENT IN WILSON WOLF
MINNEAPOLIS, March 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) today announced Wilson Wolf Manufacturing has met the trailing 12-month earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) target of $55 million, triggering Bio-Techne’s initial investment in the company, which is expected to close at the end of March 2023. Bio-Techne’s $257 million investment will give the Company a 20% ownership stake in Wilson Wolf. The agreement includes the right to acquire the remaining ownership in Wilson Wolf for $1 billion upon its achievement of $226 million in trailing 12-month revenue or $136 million in EBITDA. If the remaining milestone is not met by December 31, 2027, Bio-Techne has the right to acquire Wilson Wolf for ~4.4x trailing 12-month revenue.
Wilson Wolf, headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, is an innovative leader in the development, and manufacture of cell production technology for use in the groundbreaking healthcare field of Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT). For every potentially lifesaving CGT discovery or therapy, immune cells must be grown outside of the patient’s body. These cells are then infused into a patient to restore their capacity to fight cancer, infections, or autoimmune diseases.
Wilson Wolf’s proprietary Gas Permeable Rapid Expansion cell production products (called “G-Rex®”) are the only products that provide immune cells with the ideal amount of oxygen and nutrients as they need it, which leads to highly capable cells. G-Rex is widely regarded as the simplest and most efficient technology for the creation of immune cells and is used by over 800 CGT entities.
In 2020, Bio-Techne, Wilson Wolf and Fresenius Kabi announced the formation of the ScaleReady™ joint venture, bringing together tools and technologies for cell culture, cell activation, gene editing and cell processing. ScaleReady is empowering the field of gene therapy by delivering a simple, scalable and versatile manufacturing platform for cell and gene therapies.
“This investment represents a great step toward our eventual full ownership of Wilson Wolf,” said Chuck Kummeth, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bio-Techne. “Wilson Wolf represents a key component of our Cell and Gene Therapy strategy, and work is already underway to develop what we believe will be a one-of-a-kind CGT manufacturing system that integrates G-Rex, our GMP proteins, and T Cell media into an FDA compliant, patient ready, production process. The acquisition of Wilson Wolf, combined with our world-renowned portfolio of cell and gene therapy workflow solutions, caps 5 years of strategic investment to position Bio-Techne as a leader in tools serving this market. I am excited about Wilson Wolf’s role in simplifying and reducing the cost of manufacturing cell therapies. Wilson Wolf has been a great partner in our ongoing collaboration through ScaleReady, and we are looking forward to further strengthening the relationship upon the achievement of the remaining milestone.”
“Bio-Techne has a deep commitment to the field of CGT, expertise in creating and making products that complement G-Rex, and an entrepreneurial mindset. They are the ideal investor for Wilson Wolf to team up with to solve the biggest problem in the field, which is the
