PALO ALTO & REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 23, 2004--
Integration of Silicon Genetics' Software to Strengthen
Agilent's Position in the Informatics Market
Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) and Silicon Genetics today
announced an agreement for Agilent to acquire Silicon Genetics, a
leading provider of software solutions for life science discovery.
With the addition of Silicon Genetics' genomics data analysis and
management tools to its portfolio, Agilent will become a market leader
in life science informatics. The acquisition is subject to closing
conditions, and financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
"Silicon Genetics brings Agilent an outstanding informatics
product portfolio and a strong team of people with extensive
experience in software development, marketing, sales and support,"
said Fran DiNuzzo, vice president and general manager of Agilent's
Integrated Biology Solutions business. "Our combined organizations
will offer customers an unparalleled range of informatics solutions
spanning applications in gene expression, genotyping and protein
identification."
Silicon Genetics, privately held, has been recognized as one of
the fastest-growing technology companies in North America with
inclusion on the Deloitte Technology FAST 500 and several other
industry rankings. Silicon Genetics' customers include more than 600
leading pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions and major
research organizations around the world. Based in Redwood City,
Calif., Silicon Genetics employs 50 people, most of whom are expected
to join Agilent.
Together, the staffs of Silicon Genetics and Agilent will form a
life science informatics team that will be an incubator for
informatics products spanning DNA, RNA, protein and pathway
applications. The team will work on developing the products of Silicon
Genetics, the Agilent Spectrum Mill proteomics workbench, the Agilent
Synapsia informatics workbench and more.
"We plan to continue development and support of each of these
product lines with a commitment to openness, industry standards, and
interoperability with other instrument hardware and software
providers," said DiNuzzo. "We see informatics as a key to advancing
integrated biological research, and our goal is to provide customers
with functionality in new research areas to enhance their
productivity, creativity and research success."
Silicon Genetics' key products include:
-- GeneSpring, a powerful visualization and analysis solution
designed for use with genomic expression data on the desktop.
-- Varia, the first generation of genetic analysis software
designed for high-volume genetic variation analysis on a
standalone workbench.
-- GeNet, a scalable repository for expression data.
"This is an extremely exciting opportunity for Silicon Genetics'
customers and employees," said Andrew Conway, the company's founder
and chairman. "Agilent has broad knowledge of customer applications
and instrumentation, and it is committed to integrated informatics and
informatics partnerships. Our two companies will form a strong team
with the opportunity to make significant contributions to an even
larger audience of life science researchers."
About Silicon Genetics
Silicon Genetics is a leading provider of software solutions for
life science discovery. With combined expertise in molecular biology
and information technology, Silicon Genetics offers scalability that
meets the demands of both high-throughput sample volumes and
increasing numbers of users. Thousands of scientists at hundreds of
organizations, including 12 of the world's top 13 pharmaceutical
companies, currently use Silicon Genetics solutions to advance their
research. Additional information about Silicon Genetics and its
products and services can be found at www.silicongenetics.com.
Agilent in Life Sciences
Agilent's Life Sciences and Chemical Analysis (LSCA) business is a
world-leading provider of instruments, supplies, software and services
to the life science and chemical analysis markets. In 2003, these
markets accounted for approximately 40 percent and 60 percent
respectively of LSCA's $1.2 billion in revenue. Agilent's LSCA
business is a global organization with 3,700 employees, five
international manufacturing sites, and worldwide sales and support
services to more than 22,000 customer organizations in more than 70
countries worldwide. It is a leading provider of microarray,
microfluidic, liquid chromatography, gas chromatography and mass
spectrometry-based solutions to pharmaceutical, biotech, academic,
government and chemical organizations.
About Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) is a global technology leader
in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis.
The company's 28,000 employees serve customers in more than 110
countries. Agilent had net revenue of $6.1 billion in fiscal year
2003. Information about Agilent is available on the Web at
www.agilent.com.
Forward-Looking Statement
This news release contains forward-looking statements, including,
without limitation, statements relating to completion of the
transaction and to the effect of the transaction on Agilent's
financial condition and future business strategies, that involve risks
and uncertainties that could cause results of Agilent Technologies
and/or Silicon Genetics to differ materially from their respective
management's current expectations. These include the timing and
successful completion of product development, integration issues, the
risks that the acquisition cannot be completed successfully or that
anticipated benefits are not realized and the ability to retain
Silicon Genetics' employees and customers as well as the risks and
uncertainties that are detailed in Agilent's Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended Oct. 31, 2003, and its Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 30, 2004, as filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
NOTE TO EDITORS: Further technology, corporate citizenship and
executive news is available on the Agilent news site at
www.agilent.com/go/news.
CONTACT: Agilent Life Sciences
Christina Maehr, 408-553-7205
christina_maehr@agilent.com
or
Agilent Corporate
Amy Flores, 650-752-5303
amy_flores@agilent.com
SOURCE: Agilent Technologies Inc.