Repligen in bid for reagent vendor Maravai, sources say

Maravai Lifesciences Holdings

16/08/2024 18:22

(Adds more background on both companies, stock reaction)
    By Anirban Sen
       NEW YORK, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Repligen  RGEN.O , a
provider of drug manufacturing equipment, has approached Maravai
LifeSciences Holdings  MRVI.O , a vaccine capping reagent vendor
that has a market value of about $2.5 billion, with an
acquisition offer, people familiar with the matter said on
Friday. 
    There is no certainty that Maravai will agree to a deal with
Repligen, the sources said. Repligen is also deliberating
whether it should divest some of Maravai's divisions if it
succeeds in acquiring the company, the sources added. 
        It has held talks with private equity firms, including
EQT AB, about selling Maravai's nucleic acid production unit to
them, according to the sources.
  
    The sources requested anonymity because the matter is
confidential. Spokespeople for Repligen and Maravai did not
immediately respond to requests for comment. EQT declined to
comment. 
    Maravai has become a takeover target after it lost nearly
80% of its value from its August 2021 peak, as it struggled to
diversify beyond COVID-19 vaccines after the pandemic subsided. 
    Maravai's stock jumped more than 20% on the news, while
Repligen's shares fell nearly 12%, giving the latter a market
value of about $8 billion. 
        Maravai has previously attracted acquisition interest
from other suitors. In 2022, Maravai rebuffed a $42 per share
all-cash offer from laboratory supplies vendor Sartorius AG,
Reuters 
    reported at the time
    . Last year, buyout firm Thomas H. Lee Partners 
    approached Maravai
     with a non-binding offer, but the talks fizzled out.
Maravai's stock closed at $7.97 on Thursday.
  
        Maravai was founded about 10 years ago by life sciences
industry veteran Carl Hull and former Morgan Stanley healthcare
investment banker Eric Tardif, with the backing of private
equity firm GTCR, which currently holds a 14% stake and board
seats at the company. 
  
        The company listed its shares in 2020 when the scramble
to develop COVID-19 vaccines using mRNA technology buoyed its
reagent business. However, as the pandemic subsided in the
following years, Maravai's fortunes have waned and it has been
trying to pivot to other mRNA-based vaccines.
  
        Earlier in August, Maravai maintained its 2024 revenue
guidance of between $265 million and $285 million, lower than
what it generated last year. It reported a loss in its latest
quarterly report, missing analyst expectations. 
  
        Founded in 1981, Repligen is a maker of tools and
systems that help improve the efficiency of manufacturing drugs.
Their products are used by leading global drug developers, and
contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs). 
  

 (Reporting by Anirban Sen in New York; Editing by Chizu
Nomiyama)
 ((Anirban.Sen@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @asenjourno; Reuters
Messaging: Signal/Telegram/Whatsapp - +1-646-705-9409))