ABC.L Regulatory News (ABC)

4 March 2020

ABCAM PLC

("Abcam" or "the Company")

Abcam extends assay and labelling capabilities with the acquisition of Marker Gene Technologies

Abcam (AIM: ABC), a global innovator in life science reagents and tools, today announces the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Marker Gene Technologies, Inc. ("MGT") (the "Acquisition").

Following the recent acquisition of Expedeon's proteomics and immunology business, and aligned with our broader antibody-conjugation strategy, the acquisition of MGT brings additional proprietary assay development technologies and labelling capabilities to Abcam. MGT's team have expertise in the areas of biology, organic synthesis and fluorescence chemistry and are experienced in the creation of detection tools that enable enhanced understanding of biological processes.

Financial terms of the Acquisition have not been disclosed and are expected to have a minimal impact on revenue and earnings in the current financial year.

A substantial portion of the consideration for the Acquisition will be funded from newly issued Abcam shares. An application has been made to AIM for the admission to trading of 49,416 new ordinary shares of 0.2p each in the Company (the "New Ordinary Shares"). The New Ordinary Shares are expected to be admitted to trading on or around 9 March 2020 and will, when issued, rank pari passu with the Company's existing ordinary shares.

As at 4 March 2020, the Company's issued share capital consists of 206,082,681 ordinary shares of 0.2p each. The Company does not hold any shares in treasury. The total number of voting rights in the Company is therefore 206,082,681.

The above figure of 206,082,681 should be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company, under the Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

Following admission of the New Ordinary Shares on or around 9 March 2020, the Company's issued and fully paid share capital will consist of 206,132,097 ordinary shares of 0.2p each. 

--ENDS--

For further information, please contact:

 About Abcam plc

As a global life sciences company, Abcam identifies, develops, and distributes high-quality biological reagents and tools that are crucial to research, drug discovery and diagnostics. Working across the industry, the Company supports life scientists to achieve their mission, faster.

Abcam partners with life science organizations to co-create novel binders for use in drug discovery, in vitro diagnostics and therapeutics, driven by the Company's proprietary discovery platforms and world-leading, antibody expertise.

By constantly innovating its binders and assays, Abcam is helping advance the global understanding of biology and causes of disease, which enables new treatments and improved health. The Company's pioneering data-sharing approach gives scientists increased confidence in their results by providing validation, user comments and peer-reviewed citations for its 110,000 products.

With eleven sites globally, many of Abcam's 1,100 strong team are located in the world's leading life science research hubs, complementing a global network of services and support.

To find out more, please visit www.abcam.com and www.abcamplc.com.

Forward looking statements

This announcement, including any information included or incorporated by reference in this announcement, may contain forward-looking statements (including words such as "believe", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "anticipate" and words of similar meaning) which are based upon current expectations and assumptions regarding anticipated developments and other factors affecting the Abcam Group. All statements other than statements of historical facts may be forward-looking statements and should not be treated as guarantees of future performance. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Abcam Group, and there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this announcement and accordingly undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. The Abcam Group does not assume any obligation to, and does not intend to, revise or update these forward-looking statements, except as required pursuant to applicable law.