Biopool to Sell Blood Bank Unit to Georgia Company

Biopool International in Ventura is selling its blood bank reagent business to Immucor of Norcross, Ga., for $4.5 million.

The agreement calls for a cash payment for the business operated as Biopool’s BCA Division, with the transaction expected to close May 1. The purchase price is $3 million for net working capital plus $1.5 million for the product lines.

Biopool will retain ownership of the plant, property and equipment in the West Chester, Pa., facility and will operate the business on behalf of Immucor during the transition period.

With the cash from the transaction, Biopool expects to make purchases or investments that will facilitate growth in its core business segment.

“When we purchased this business in January 1997, we expected to achieve certain synergies between it and Biopool’s core hemostasis business,” said Michael D. Bick, Biopool chairman and chief executive. “Numerous changes in the dynamics of the blood bank reagent market have worked against us to realize this ambition.”

Immucor acquired Dominion Biologicals in 1997 and Gamma Biologicals in November 1998, which made it the market leader in the blood bank reagent market, Bick said.

A reagent is a substance used to detect or measure another substance, or to convert one substance to another.

Biopool develops test kits to diagnose blood disorders, as well as chemistry controls used to monitor and measure the presence of drugs. The company’s products are sold to hospitals, clinical laboratories, commercial reference laboratories and research institutions.