QIAGEN Acquires Majority Stake in Enzymes Provider BLIRT S.A.

• BLIRT adds new R&D and manufacturing capabilities for customized and standardized recombinant enzymes, as well as molecular biology reagents
• Strengthens QIAGEN’s sample technologies business, one of the company’s five pillars of growth, also with additional global production capacities and broader commercial reach
• 96% majority stake acquired in BLIRT SA through the transaction with a group of leading shareholders

QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) announced today that it has signed agreements to acquire a 96% majority ownership stake in BLIRT SA (Polish Stock Exchange: BLR), a manufacturer of recombinant enzymes for the life science industry based in Gdansk, Poland.

BLIRT develops, manufactures and commercializes standardized and customized solutions for proteins and enzymes as well as molecular biology reagents. Its offering includes proteins and enzymes that are critical to the life sciences industry and diagnostic kit manufacturers, especially for non-COVID-19 applications. BLIRT, founded in 1994 in Gdansk, Poland, has approximately 90 employees and generated 2021 sales of less than $10 million.

“The addition of BLIRT to QIAGEN brings highly complementary capabilities that will create additional growth prospects for our enzymes and reagents business,” said Thomas Schweins, Senior Vice President and Head of QIAGEN’s Life Sciences Business Area. “BLIRT will also widen our geographic presence, add new sales channels, strengthen our production and R&D capacities and safeguard our supply chains. This acquisition will further strengthen our sample technologies business, one of our five pillars of growth. And it also supports our strategy to focus on attractive growth opportunities in the life science and molecular diagnostic markets and our disciplined approach to value-creating acquisitions.”

“Over recent years, we have intensively grown our business: we have invested, observed trends and found new markets", said Marian Popinigis, CEO of BLIRT SA. "Thanks to QIAGEN, the growth of BLIRT will accelerate. First and foremost, the scale of operations will increase, and our employees will become part of a global team. We accepted QIAGEN's offer because it would benefit everyone involved: both companies, customers, distributors and employees. I am confident that we will observe positive synergy effects from the joint operations of QIAGEN and BLIRT in the upcoming years. This will create exciting new possibilities. Among other things, customers will have access to a broader offer, and employees will take advantage of new career options."

Under the terms of the agreement, QIAGEN has acquired more than 96% of the outstanding shares of BLIRT in transactions with a group of leading shareholders. QIAGEN intends to obtain full ownership of BLIRT, which will be fully consolidated by QIAGEN following the closing of the transaction in the second quarter of 2022. The acquisition of BLIRT does not have any material impact on QIAGEN’s financial outlook for 2022, as announced on April 26, 2022.

For more information, please visit http://www.qiagen.com

About QIAGEN

QIAGEN N.V., a Netherlands-based holding company, is the leading global provider of Sample to Insight solutions that enable customers to gain valuable molecular insights from samples containing the building blocks of life. Our sample technologies isolate and process DNA, RNA and proteins from blood, tissue and other materials. Assay technologies make these biomolecules visible and ready for analysis. Bioinformatics software and knowledge bases interpret data to report relevant, actionable insights. Automation solutions tie these together in seamless and cost-effective workflows. QIAGEN provides solutions to more than 500,000 customers around the world in molecular diagnostics (human healthcare), Applied Testing (primarily forensics), Pharma (pharma and biotech companies) and Academia (life sciences research). As of March 31, 2022, QIAGEN employed more than 6,000 people in over 35 locations worldwide. Further information can be found at www.qiagen.com.

About BLIRT

BLIRT is a company with many years of experience specializing in industrial-scale production of high-quality recombinant proteins. The firm also produces kits for isolation of DNA and RNA, as well as reagents for reverse transcription and Real-Time PCR, which have gained wide interest in the B2B sector and are sold to researchers via a global network of distributors. The kits produced by BLIRT offer high efficiency and user-friendly protocols. All key enzymes and kits are independently manufactured by the company in order to ensure repeatability and the highest quality of products. The company employs nearly 90 people, including 49 members of the research and manufacturing team, 15 of whom hold a doctorate in molecular biology, biotechnology, biochemistry or organic chemistry. BLIRT has four labs outfitted with top-quality equipment, including two with lines for industrial-scale manufacturing. More at www.blirt.eu.

Forward-Looking Statement

Certain statements contained in this press release may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. To the extent that any of the statements contained herein relating to QIAGEN's products, collaborations markets, strategy or operating results, including without limitation its expected adjusted net sales and adjusted diluted earnings results, are forward-looking, such statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that involve a number of uncertainties and risks. Such uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited to, risks associated with management of growth and international operations (including the effects of currency fluctuations, regulatory processes and dependence on logistics), variability of operating results and allocations between customer classes, the commercial development of markets for our products to customers in academia, pharma, applied testing and molecular diagnostics; changing relationships with customers, suppliers and strategic partners; competition; rapid or unexpected changes in technologies; fluctuations in demand for QIAGEN's products (including fluctuations due to general economic conditions, the level and timing of customers' funding, budgets and other factors); our ability to obtain regulatory approval of our products; difficulties in successfully adapting QIAGEN's products to integrated solutions and producing such products; the ability of QIAGEN to identify and develop new products and to differentiate and protect our products from competitors' products; market acceptance of QIAGEN's new products and the integration of acquired technologies and businesses. For further information, please refer to the discussions in reports that QIAGEN has filed with, or furnished to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Category: Corporate

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