Donaldson Co. Inc. (NYSE: DCI) announced Tuesday it acquired Purilogics, a Greenville, S.C.-based biotechnology company for $20 million.
Bloomington-based Donaldson, which manufactures filtration devices for several industries, said the deal offers significant competitive advantages to its life sciences portfolio, because Purilogics' technology unlocks faster and cheaper production of complex drugs.
“Being a part of Donaldson will provide Purilogics with the global scale and financial flexibility needed to achieve our founding vision — to accelerate the speed of early stage biologics drug development and improve production efficiency,” Purilogics co-founder Jinxiang Zhou said in a statement.
Purilogics uses membrane technologies to separate mixtures into their individual components in a process known as chromatography. Purilogics' Purexa line of products can speed development of drugs used to treat cancers, cardiovascular diseases and autoimmune disorders, according to its website.
In addition to the initial purchase price of $20 million, the deal also includes milestone-based earnout payments over the next five years.
Once Purilogics commercializes its products, its revenue will be reported within the Donaldson Industrial Filtration Solutions business in the Industrial Products segment.
Purilogics was advised in the transaction by Klaus Binder and John Chickosky of Binder Associates, GmbH.
Purilogics was founded in 2013 by Zhou and Scott Husson. Its office is located within the Institute for Translational Oncology Research on the campus of Prisma Health, a South Carolina nonprofit health system.
Donaldson was founded in 1915 when tractor salesman Frank Donaldson Sr. invented an air cleaner for a tractor, the company has since expanded into a globe-spanning manufacturer of products used in agriculture, aerospace, transportation and the food and beverage industry. It has manufacturing and distribution hubs on six continents.
Donaldson was the No. 22 largest public company in Minnesota according to Business Journal Research. It reported $3.1 billion in revenue in 2021.
