San Diego-based Illumina Inc. said July 22 it will buy privately held Avantome Inc. for $25 million upfront in an effort to secure its position as a leader of genetic sequencing technologies.
Illumina said it will pay the company an initial $25 million in cash plus contingent payments of up to $35 million. The deal is expected to close in the next few weeks.
Avantome founders Mostafa Ronaghi and Helmy Eltoukhy will join Illumina’s management team. Ronaghi will serve as senior vice president and chief technical officer and Eltoukhy will become director of Avantome sequencing development.
Avantome is based in San Francisco.
Illumina also reported that its second-quarter profits rose 66 percent to $15.4 million on a surge in product sales. Company profits were $9.3 million the same period a year ago.
, Heather Chambers