DiaSorin (FTSE MIB: DIA) and Cytek Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CTKB) today announced that Luminex Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of DiaSorin, has signed an agreement with Cytek to sell substantially all of its assets related to the Flow Cytometry & Imaging (FCI) business unit. The sale is expected to close within 30 days, subject to customary closing conditions.

The FCI business unit, acquired by Luminex in October 2018, is based on both conventional flow cytometry and image-based flow cytometry instrumentation, which provide insights into all facets of cellular phenotypes and morphology. The FCI business unit includes dedicated commercial, operations, R&D, and supporting personnel.

An existing installed base of more than 7,000 instruments will be under the Cytek umbrella following the acquisition, expanding the company’s global commercial footprint.

The decision to sell the FCI business unit to Cytek is in line with DiaSorin’s strategic priorities communicated to investors during the Capital Market Day in December 2021.

“We are currently working on several projects that will allow DiaSorin to further growth and strengthen our positioning as a specialty player over the next years”, commented Angelo Rago, President of Luminex. “To do so, we need to be extremely focused on the core for our future and, therefore, we decided to sell the Flow Cytometry & Imaging business unit to a dedicated, leading player in the space. We are convinced that Cytek will be able to grow it with success in the future”.

Over 60% of employees supporting the FCI business unit are within the commercial organization, including sales and marketing personnel, technical application scientists and field service engineers. These additions will greatly enhance Cytek’s ability to grow sales and service customers by expanding Cytek’s reach and its offerings into customer segments previously underserved. The majority of the commercial employees are located in EMEA, China and APAC. These additions will further strengthen Cytek teams in those geographies.

By adding first-to-market Amnis® imaging flow cytometers to its robust lineup of cell analysis solutions, Cytek will be able to provide researchers and scientists with tools that combine high resolution cell images with the speed, sensitivity, and phenotyping abilities of flow cytometry. The addition of Guava® flow cytometers will expand Cytek’s core instrument offerings, adding cost effective, entry-level and personal instrument options to broaden the market and research areas it services.

“The talent and technology that come along with this acquisition will bolster our offerings to address the current market and further our mission to provide a complete cell analysis solution to our customers,” noted Wenbin Jiang, CEO of Cytek Biosciences. “We look forward to welcoming Luminex’s flow cytometry team into our own and working together to serve our customers and to move cell research forward.”

Goldman Sachs International is acting as exclusive financial advisor and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP as legal counsel to Luminex Corporation.