ABC.L Regulatory News (ABC)

For immediate release 24 May 2011

ABCAM PLC

("Abcam" or "the Company")

Acquisition of Protein Research Tools Business in Oregon, USA

Abcam plc, a global leader in the supply of protein research and detection tools, is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of MitoSciences Inc. a leading provider of mitochondrial research tools based in the USA.

The total consideration for MitoSciences Inc., a privately held company, is US$6.0 million (£3.7 million), which is being settled by way of a cash consideration of US$4.2 million (£2.6 million) and US$1.8 million (£1.1 million) of Abcam shares issued at 397.1p being the rolling five day average price terminating three days prior to completion.

Headquartered in Eugene, Oregon, MitoSciences Inc. began operations seven years ago and currently employs 24 staff. With a catalogue of more than 200 products, it is recognised as one of the leading providers of mitochondrial research tools focusing on areas of metabolism and apoptosis.

MitoSciences Inc. has a proven product development capability and an exciting pipeline of new products. In the year ended 31 December 2010, it had product revenues of US$2.1 million (£1.3 million), the majority of which came from customers based in the USA, and net assets of US$0.6 million (£0.4 million). 

The acquisition of MitoSciences Inc. supports Abcam's strategy of becoming the global leader in protein research and detection and will serve to enhance the exceptional range of protein research tools available to new and existing customers. The combined entity will be the market leader in mitochondrial research and will extend Abcam's manufacturing and product development capability, particularly in the exciting area of assay development.

Commenting on today's announcement Jonathan Milner, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"We are delighted to strengthen our business in this exciting research area and look forward to welcoming the employees of MitoSciences Inc. into the Abcam team. This kind of acquisition adds value for our business and customers, and we will continue to appraise new acquisition opportunities as they arise."

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Notes for editors

About Abcam plc

Abcam is a producer and distributor of high quality research-grade antibodies and associated proteomics research products. Antibodies and related products are essential tools for life scientists enabling them to analyse components of living cells at the molecular level.

Headquartered in Cambridge (UK), Abcam has subsidiary offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA), Tokyo (Japan) and Hong Kong (China) allowing them to serve a global customer base of 75 countries. Abcam employs over 290 staff across its four operating companies.

Abcam now has an online catalogue of over 72,000 products sourced from over 250 suppliers. The catalogue includes a growing range of non-antibody products such as proteins, peptides, lysates, immunoassays and other kits. Products are available for life science research and distributed to academic and commercial users. A highly developed e-commerce platform, which includes regional websites for the Chinese and Japanese markets, allows customers to access up-to-date and detailed technical product data sheets at the Company's website www.abcam.com.

Abcam was admitted to AIM in November 2005 and trades under the ticker symbol ABC. The Company's vision is to be the leading provider of protein research and detection tools globally.