Repligen in bid for reagent vendor Maravai, sources say

Repligen RGEN, a provider of drug manufacturing equipment, has approached Maravai LifeSciences Holdings MRVI, a vaccine capping reagent vendor that has a market value of about $2.5 billion, with an acquisition offer, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

There is no certainty that Maravai will agree to a deal with Repligen, the sources said. Repligen is also deliberating whether it should divest some of Maravai's divisions if it succeeds in acquiring the company, the sources added.

It has held talks with private equity firms, including EQT AB, about selling Maravai's nucleic acid production unit to them, according to the sources.

The sources requested anonymity because the matter is confidential. Spokespeople for Repligen and Maravai did not immediately respond to requests for comment. EQT declined to comment.

Maravai has become a takeover target after it lost nearly 80% of its value from its August 2021 peak, as it struggled to diversify beyond COVID-19 vaccines after the pandemic subsided.

Maravai's stock jumped more than 20% on the news, while Repligen's shares fell nearly 12%, giving the latter a market value of about $8 billion.

Maravai has previously attracted acquisition interest from other suitors. In 2022, Maravai rebuffed a $42 per share all-cash offer from laboratory supplies vendor Sartorius AG, Reuters reported at the time . Last year, buyout firm Thomas H. Lee Partners approached Maravai with a non-binding offer, but the talks fizzled out. Maravai's stock closed at $7.97 on Thursday.

Maravai was founded about 10 years ago by life sciences industry veteran Carl Hull and former Morgan Stanley healthcare investment banker Eric Tardif, with the backing of private equity firm GTCR, which currently holds a 14% stake and board seats at the company.

The company listed its shares in 2020 when the scramble to develop COVID-19 vaccines using mRNA technology buoyed its reagent business. However, as the pandemic subsided in the following years, Maravai's fortunes have waned and it has been trying to pivot to other mRNA-based vaccines.

Earlier in August, Maravai maintained its 2024 revenue guidance of between $265 million and $285 million, lower than what it generated last year. It reported a loss in its latest quarterly report, missing analyst expectations.

Founded in 1981, Repligen is a maker of tools and systems that help improve the efficiency of manufacturing drugs. Their products are used by leading global drug developers, and contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs).