Varian acquires Britain’s Polymer Laboratories

Palo Alto, CA – Instrument maker Varian says it has acquired PL International, and its subsidiaries including Polymer Laboratories, a privately owned company based in the UK, for approximately $42 million. The transaction also includes an opportunity for additional purchase price payments over three years that could total up to $23 million.

Polymer Laboratories develops consumables and instrumentation for advanced polymer analysis, including columns, standards and specialist chromatography systems dedicated to gel permeation chromatography (GPC) analysis. It also manufactures systems for high-throughput screening and process monitoring applied to polymeric materials.

For HPLC, Polymer Laboratories manufactures robust polymeric media and columns for biochromatography, and specialist detectors. For the pharmaceutical and clinical diagnostic industries, it manufactures resins for drug development and pharmaceutical process applications, and clinical diagnostic polymer particles.

“The acquisition of Polymer Laboratories is strategic to the advancement of Varian’s goal to grow the applications-based consumable products to become a larger portion of the business,” says Garry W Rogerson, Varian’s president and CEO.