Repligen will pay $26.50 a share for BioLife, a 42% premium, combining cold-chain tools with purification systems for cell and gene therapy manufacturing.
Alpha Score of 45 reflects weak overall profile with strong momentum, poor value, moderate quality. Based on 3 of 4 signals – score is capped at 90 until remaining data ingests.
Repligen agreed to acquire BioLife Solutions in a cash-and-stock deal valued at roughly $2.6 billion, the companies said Tuesday, combining two suppliers of critical materials for drug manufacturing.
The offer values BioLife at $26.50 a share, a 42% premium to its Friday close. Repligen will pay $8.50 in cash and issue 0.038 shares of its own stock for each BioLife share. BioLife shares jumped 38% in premarket trading. Repligen fell 6%.
BioLife makes cell-freeze media and cryopreservation tools used in cell and gene therapy production. Its CryoStor and HypoThermosol lines are the industry standard for keeping living cells viable during transport and storage. Repligen, which sells filtration systems, chromatography columns and process analytics, said the deal gives it a direct line into the fastest-growing segment of biologic manufacturing.
"BioLife's portfolio is complementary in every way," Repligen CEO Olivier Loeillot said on the call. "They own the cold chain. We own the purification train. Together we can offer a full process solution."
The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to regulatory approvals and BioLife shareholder votes. Repligen expects the deal to add to adjusted earnings per share by the second half of 2027.
Jason Garland, Repligen's CFO, said the company will fund the cash portion with existing cash and a new $1 billion term loan. The combined company will carry net leverage of about 2.8 times trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA at close, with a plan to delever below 2 times within 18 months.
Repligen's Alpha Score sits at 35 out of 100, a mixed rating reflecting the stock's recent underperformance against a rising bioprocessing peer group. The deal may reframe that narrative if the integration hits its cost and revenue targets.
Analysts on the call pressed Loeillot on the revenue synergy target of $75 million by 2029. He pointed to cross-selling Repligen's filtration hardware into BioLife's existing customer base of 400-plus cell therapy developers, and vice versa. "These are the same buyers," he said. "They are buying bags from BioLife and columns from us. We just need to make it one conversation."
BioLife's 2025 revenue was $312 million, up 14% year over year. Repligen reported $1.1 billion in 2025 revenue. The combined entity would have roughly 4,400 employees.
Stephens analyst Steven Etoch asked whether Repligen would keep the BioLife brand. Loeillot said the company plans to fold BioLife's products under the Repligen umbrella over time but will keep the brand alive "as long as customers value it."
The deal is the largest in Repligen's history, eclipsing the 2021 acquisition of Avitide for $750 million. Repligen shares have lost 28% over the past 12 months as the broader bioprocessing recovery lagged expectations. The company reports second-quarter earnings on Aug. 5.
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