Agribusiness January 3, 2023 12:39:14 pm

Loveland’s Heska closes on acquisition of Boulder-based LightDeck

By Lucas High

LOVELAND — Veterinary products supplier Heska Corp. (Nasdaq: HSKA) closed on its acquisition of Boulder-based MBio Diagnostics Inc., which does business as LightDeck Diagnostics, a deal that includes a Longmont manufacturing operation that’s expected to begin production this year.

The deal, first reported by BizWest in September, is valued at about $38.7 million.

The acquired company, which has a team of 80 employees, has developed the LightDeck testing platform that combines an advanced laser waveguide with novel materials to conduct rapid testing and has developed numerous diagnostic tests, including some developed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

LightDeck, which began expanding into Longmont last year, also is developing a rapid test to detect many per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which can cause cancer, hormone disruption, liver and kidney toxicity, harm to the immune system, and reproductive and developmental toxicity.

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In 2021, the company began planning a $37.5 million, 200-worker operation at 1844 Nelson Road in Longmont, a 65,000-square-foot leased building that was formerly home to a division of General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE).

Heska’s acquisition “represents a key advancement in the company’s strategic plan to accelerate research and development and manufacturing capabilities at scale,” the company said in a prepared statement. “… The Longmont facility, anticipated to go online in 2023, will dramatically increase Heska’s manufacturing production capacity and research and development efforts in furtherance of several potential blockbuster testing platforms, including the company’s exclusive canine cancer screening platform anticipated to launch in 2023.”

Heska management said in a regulatory disclosure this week that more information and comments on the LightDeck deal will be forthcoming next month when Heska files its annual report.