Agilent Technologies Inc. and Multiplicom N.V. announced that they have signed a definitive agreement under which Agilent will acquire Multiplicom, a leading European diagnostics company with state-of-the-art genetic testing technology and products.

Multiplicom, headquartered inNiel, Belgium, develops, manufactures and commercializes molecular-diagnostic solutions, provided as kits, which enable personalized medicine. Specifically, these solutions enable clinical labs to identify the DNA variants that are associated with a genetic disease or predisposition in patients, or that may steer cancer therapy or identify congenital defects early in pregnancy.

"The acquisition of Multiplicom significantly strengthens ourpresence in the genomics market," said Herman Verrelst, vice president and general manager of Agilent’s Genomics Division. "Multiplicom’s products and technology help expand our target-enrichment portfolio and enhance our next-generation sequencing workflow capabilities – providing immediate scale in adjacent markets."

"Multiplicom is excited to be a part of Agilent and for the opportunity to offer our products and technology to a global customer base," said Dirk Pollet, Multiplicom’s CEO. "We are also immensely grateful to our investors Gimv, PMV, Qbic, RMM, University of Antwerpen and VIB for their unwavering support from Day One."

Agilent is acquiring Multiplicom for approximately €68 million in cash.The acquisition is expected to be completed by mid-January, subject to local laws and regulations and customary closing conditions. Multiplicomemploys about 90 people, all of whom will be offered employment opportunities with Agilent.

About Multiplicom N.V.

Multiplicom N.V. develops, manufactures and commercializes molecular diagnostic solutions, provided as kits, which enable personalized medicine. Founded in 2011 as a spin-off from the University of Antwerp and VIB, Multiplicom achieved CE-IVDcertification for the BRCA MASTR Dx assay for breast and ovarian cancer predisposition in 2012. It was the first company in Europe to achieve a BRCA CE-IVD certification and it continues to develop and market quality controlled NGS-based assays. Therefore, it enables clinical laboratories to identify the DNA variants that areassociated with a genetic disease or predisposition in patients, or that maysteer cancer therapy or to identify congenital defects early in pregnancy.