GENEWIZ to be Acquired by Azenta Life Sciences

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ, September 26, 2018 — GENEWIZ announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Azenta Life Sciences. GENEWIZ is a leading global genomics service provider with laboratory operations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, China, and Japan.

Azenta Life Sciences is a worldwide provider of automation solutions and has been expanding its technology and leadership in multiple markets, including semiconductor manufacturing and life sciences. Azenta Life Sciences offers superior capabilities centered around the management of biological samples throughout the Cold Chain of custody -- from hardware, software, and consumables to services -- bringing customers easy access to a ‘sample-to-answer’ solution.

“Our customers rely on GENEWIZ for our unique combination of technical expertise and innovative genomic solutions all backed by the best customer support in the industry. We are very proud that we have helped scientists around the world advance their discoveries in this genomics era,” said Dr. Amy Liao, GENEWIZ co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. “By joining together with Azenta, GENEWIZ will be able to create even more value for our expanded customer base with the full solutions provided by the combined company and have access to additional capital for more rapid development of our service offerings.” Dr. Liao will continue to serve as President of GENEWIZ.

“This is another milestone of Azentas’ growth strategy in life sciences. Having GENEWIZ on board is consistent with our commitment to investing in the development and growth of the Azenta Life Sciences business,” said Dr. Steve Schwartz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Azenta Life Sciences. “I sincerely welcome the GENEWIZ team to the Azenta family, and I am excited about the growth opportunities and potential synergies our teams can create together.”

Dr. Steve Sun, co-founder and Executive Chairman of GENEWIZ, stated “Since GENEWIZ’s founding in 1999, we have been fortunate to attract and build a team of talented and dedicated scientists and professionals. Our team works tirelessly to establish GENEWIZ as a powerhouse, advancing genomics and its applications at a global scale. The GENEWIZ board is confident that the GENEWIZ team will continue to excel. Together, with the team at Azenta, the combined company will contribute exponentially more to the life science community. It has been a great journey, and I look forward to seeing it continue with Azenta.”

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. It is expected to close by the end of the calendar year. GENEWIZ will continue to operate under the GENEWIZ brand upon closing.

Jefferies LLC acted as financial advisor and Shearman & Sterling acted as legal counsel to GENEWIZ.

ABOUT GENEWIZ

GENEWIZ is a global leader in genomics services that enable research scientists within pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agriculture, environmental and clean energy, academic, and government institutions to advance their discoveries. Customers rely on our unique and proprietary genomics technologies and services, backed by our specialized experts in Sanger sequencing, gene synthesis, molecular biology, next generation sequencing, bioinformatics, and GLP regulatory-compliant services.

Headquartered in South Plainfield, NJ, GENEWIZ is privately-held with a network of laboratories in Boston, MA; Washington, D.C. Metro; Research Triangle Park, NC; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; and Seattle, WA. International locations include Beijing, Suzhou, Tianjin, and Guangzhou, China; Takeley, United Kingdom; Leipzig, Germany; and Tokyo, Japan. For more information, visit www.genewiz.com, and connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, WeChat, and Weibo.

ABOUT Azenta Life Sciences

Azenta is a leading worldwide provider of automation and cryogenic solutions for multiple markets including semiconductor manufacturing and life sciences. Azentas' technologies, engineering competencies and global service capabilities provide customers speed to market and ensure high uptime and rapid response, which equate to superior value in their mission-critical controlled environments. Since 1978, Azenta has been a leading partner to the global semiconductor manufacturing market and since 2011 Azenta has applied its automation and cryogenics expertise to meet the sample storage needs of customers in the life sciences industry. Azenta life sciences offerings include a broad range of products and services for on-site infrastructure for sample management in 20°C to -190°C temperatures, as well as comprehensive outsource service solutions across the complete life cycle of biological samples including collection, transportation, processing, storage, protection, retrieval and disposal. Azenta is headquartered in Chelmsford, MA, with operations in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.Azenta.com.

GENEWIZ CONTACT:
Lindsay Kendall-Zuill
Vice President, Marketing
908-222-0711
media@genewiz.com