Thermo Fisher to acquire Brammer Bio in $1.7 bln deal

- Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc, the world's largest maker of scientific instruments, said on Sunday it has agreed to buy Brammer Bio in a roughly $1.7 billion cash deal.

Brammer Bio, a viral vector manufacturer for gene and cell therapies, is expected to post $250 million in revenue for 2019, Thermo Fisher said in a statement.

"Brammer Bio will be an exciting addition to our pharma services business and will further strengthen Thermo Fisher's leadership in serving pharma and biotech customers," said Thermo Fisher President and Chief Executive Marc N. Casper.

Brammer, which has almost 600 employees, is owned by its founders and private equity firm Ampersand Capital Partners.

Thermo Fisher said it expects to complete the transaction by the end of the second quarter.

Thermo Fisher's stock is up around 18 percent so far in 2019, giving it a market capitalization of just over $105 billion, according to Refinitiv data. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin in New York; Editing by Sandra Maler)