Castile Ventures Portfolio Company
Ahura Scientific To Be Acquired
Analytical Instruments Supplier Thermo Fisher Scientific Signs
Agreement to Acquire the Leading Innovator in
Handheld Field-Deployed Spectrometers
Waltham, MA. (January 19, 2010) - Castile Ventures today announced that Castile portfolio company Ahura Scientific has signed an agreement to be acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) for $145 million in cash plus the potential for an earn-out payment based on the achievement of certain 2010 financial targets. Founded in 2002, Ahura has grown rapidly to become the leading supplier of field-deployed analytical instruments for human health and public safety applications. The company’s products are now deployed in homeland security, public safety, pharmaceutical, industrial and medical applications worldwide. Based in Wilmington, Mass., Ahura has approximately 120 employees and generated revenues of about $45 million in 2009.
“As a founding VC that has worked closely with the team since the company’s inception, I am delighted by this development,” said Castile managing general partner, Nina Saberi. “I have been fortunate to work with an exceptionally talented, entrepreneurial and professional team. The products this team has invented are making a vital contribution in a wide range of applications. Today’s announcement is a testament to their high-impact vision and to their success in creating an efficient and scalable business.”
“With a strong complementary fit between the two companies’ technologies, this acquisition represents a great outcome for our customers, employees and investors,” added chairman and chief executive officer Doug Kahn. “All of us at Ahura Scientific are very excited to be joining the Thermo Fisher Scientific organization.”
Founded in 2002, Ahura Scientific has designed and developed a range of handheld devices for portable substance identification. These instruments, FirstDefender®, TruDefender™ FT, TruDefender FTG, TruScan™ and TruScreen,™ use spectroscopic technology to enable the molecular identification of chemicals. The company’s rugged, miniaturized Raman and FT-IR (Fourier-transform infrared) instruments are used worldwide by military and civilian first responders, major pharmaceutical manufacturers and consumer health organizations.
Ahura Scientific founder and president Daryoosh Vakhshoori noted: “As our founding VC, Castile has been a key ingredient of our success. Castile has provided valuable insights and guidance as we established our company, brought our products to market and scaled the business.”
About Castile Ventures
Castile Ventures is a top-performing early-stage venture capital firm that provides financial backing and strategic guidance to help exceptional entrepreneurs build successful technology businesses. Distinguished by the deep business and technology experience of its partners, Castile brings a unique blend of sector expertise, investment know-how, operational insights, connections to IT decision makers, and strong ties to innovators and visionaries. Founded in 1998, Castile currently manages three funds with investments including Agiliance, Ahura Scientific, Aurora Networks, Brix Networks (acquired by EXFO), ChosenSecurity, Funambol, GeoTrust (acquired by VeriSign), Network Intelligence (acquired by EMC), RatePoint, SilverStorm Technologies (acquired by QLogic), Sonus Networks (NASDAQ: SONS), Stargus (acquired by C-COR) and Trapeze Networks (acquired by Belden). For more information: www.castileventures.com.
