European investor snatches up DNA test maker DNA Diagnostics for $118M

Print 15 October 2015
Emily Wasserman / FierceMedicalDevices

DNA testing outfit DNA Diagnostics is selling out to European healthcare investor GHO Capital for €104 million ($118 million), allowing GHO to cash in on the genetic testing market and expand its international footprint while increasing DDC's global reach.

Neither side is revealing additional financial details, but GHO will get its hands on DDC's suite of DNA testing services, including those for the pharma and animal health industries. Fairfield, OH-based DDC has European operations and 245 employees across the globe, making it easy to replicate its "scalable, asset-light business" in the European market, GHO said in a statement.

"With a leading platform and broad customer base, DDC has delivered double-digit growth in recent years and is poised for continued expansion in Europe and internationally," DDC CEO Peter Vitulli said in a statement. "We have found a differentiated specialist partner in GHO Capital and we look forward to working together on the next phase of DDC's continued growth."

GHO co-founder Mike Mortimer

GHO, which was founded last June and raised over $400 million in an initial fundraise, can also broaden its global footprint through the deal. The acquisition gives the investor a "great opportunity to buy a strong, fast-growing U.S. business and add a big international leg to it," GHO co-founder Mike Mortimer told Bloomberg. And more deals could soon be on the horizon as GHO scouts out more investments, he added.

"Europe is a great place to invest in healthcare," Mortimer said, as quoted by Bloomberg. "We hope that in the near term we will do another deal."

The acquisition also comes as a recent report cast light on med tech M&A, which has fallen off a bit since 2014. Part of the reason for the decline could be because last year's pace was unsustainable, according to EvaluateMedTech. But smaller deals are still delivering, with the average deal size for "non-mega" transactions, or those less than $10 billion, hitting a four-year high in 2015.

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