Hygiena to Acquire Food Safety Diagnostics Business from DuPont

15 Dec 2016 --- DuPont Nutrition & Health and Hygiena, a Warburg Pincus portfolio company that specializes in rapid food safety and environmental sanitation testing, announced today that Hygiena will acquire DuPont’s global food safety diagnostics business.

The acquisition includes all of DuPont Diagnostics business assets, including the BAX and RiboPrinter Systems and associated test kits; a global and technically trained sales, R&D and manufacturing organization; and in-house production capacity. The business was formed by DuPont in 1992 as Qualicon, and Hygiena will retain the Qualicon name. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, pending customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. 

DuPont Diagnostics provides innovative, science-based microbial detection and monitoring products that identify and characterize pathogens and other unwelcome organisms in food ingredients, finished products and production environments. Shortly after the formation of the business, DuPont pioneered Nobel-prize-winning PCR technology in commercial food safety testing with the BAX System for pathogen detection. Today, the BAX System has been adopted as the leading detection method by food manufacturers, food quality laboratories and governments around the world. Hygiena plans to invest behind new product development to continue the DuPont Diagnostics history of market-leading innovation. 

“The combination of DuPont Diagnostics and Hygiena will create a broad food safety diagnostics company that can better serve our customers,” said Steve Nason, chief executive officer of Hygiena. “The combined company’s microbiology products will cover the full manufacturing process, from in-process environmental tests to finished product tests. In addition, the combination increases our customer service presence in the United States and internationally, which will allow us to further enhance our research and development efforts and support to our combined customer base.” 

“This transaction is a strategic business decision that will allow DuPont Nutrition & Health to focus on growth opportunities that are more closely aligned with our core portfolio of specialty food ingredients,” said Matthias Heinzel, president, DuPont Nutrition & Health. “We believe that the Diagnostics business is an excellent strategic fit with Hygiena. Together they will be better able to offer greater opportunities for growth and investment in innovative solutions for the global pathogen testing industry.” 

Hygiena is a microbiology and life science company that serves industrial food processors, healthcare institutions, life science researchers and other industries. Hygiena manufactures and sells a broad range of rapid hygiene monitoring systems, environmental collection systems and rapid dilution devices, including its market leading ATP (adenosine triphosphate) testing system. Its products are distributed in over 80 countries worldwide. Hygiena is committed to the mission of providing customers with innovative technologies that are simple, easy to use and reliable, with excellent customer service and support. 

In 2016, Hygiena received an investment from Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm focused on growth investing, to help further this mission. Warburg Pincus’ investment in Hygiena was driven by the firm’s thesis that the company represents an excellent platform to consolidate the highly fragmented food and life sciences testing and environmental sanitation industry. Stephanie Geveda, managing director, Warburg Pincus, said, “DuPont Diagnostics is a perfect fit within Hygiena’s growth strategy. We are excited to invest in and build upon the business’ portfolio of leading diagnostic products and capabilities.”