Applied Biosystems and Ambion have announced that they have signed a definitive agreement for Applied Biosystems to acquire the Research Products Division of Ambion for $273 million in cash. Morrison & Foerster is representing Applied Biosystems in the transaction which is expected to close in the first calendar quarter of 2006.

Applied Biosystems Group is an Applera Corporation business which serves the life science industry and research community by developing and marketing instrument-based systems, consumables, software, and services. Ambion, Inc. develops and supplies innovative consumable products for stabilizing, synthesizing, handling, isolating, storing, detecting and quantifying RNA (ribonucleic acid).

The Morrison & Foerster team was led by San Francisco partner Jonathan Dickstein and of counsel Key Shin.