Mesa Labs Acquires The Bios International Flow Calibrator Business

LAKEWOOD, Colo., May 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Mesa Laboratories, Inc.  (NASDAQ:MLAB), a Lakewood, Colorado based manufacturer of electronic instruments and disposables, today announced the acquisition of the flow calibrator business of Bios International Corporation, a New Jersey company.

Under the terms of the transaction, Mesa Labs has acquired essentially all of the assets of Bios' business involving the design, manufacturing, sales and service of gas flow calibration instrumentation.  The flow calibrator business was acquired by Mesa for an initial payment of $16.66 million in cash, plus a possible future payment of up to $6.71 million in cash, dependant on the growth rate of the business during the first three years following the acquisition.  In the 12-month period ended April 30, 2012, the flow calibrator business of Bios had unaudited revenues of approximately $6.7 million.  Due to excellent profit margins and a favorable tax treatment of this asset deal, the addition of the flow calibrator business is expected to increase Mesa's cash flow significantly and be accretive to Mesa's GAAP earnings per share beginning in the current fiscal year, ending March 31, 2013.  

Bios is a worldwide leader in sales of instruments to calibrate gas flows.  Bios' industry-leading "DryCal" technology covers the entire range of gas flows and required accuracy for customers in a wide variety of industries, including environmental, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, semiconductor, automotive, and food processing.  Bios calibrators are used in any application where accurate gas flow is a critical parameter, such as industrial hygiene, industrial process control, environmental monitoring, and metrology.  Bios has developed a state-of-the-art flow calibration laboratory that is certified under ISO 17025.  More information about Bios and its products can be found at http://www.biosint.com/. 

"The Bios gas flow calibrators are a great addition to Mesa's line of instrumentation products," said John J. Sullivan, President and CEO of Mesa Labs.  "Mesa's acquisition strategy is to focus on quality control products sold into regulated industries, and in this regard, Bios is an excellent fit.  Bios has established a strong market position, with few competitors, by focusing on high quality products and superior customer service.  The Bios business enjoys excellent margins, similar to Mesa's other instrumentation products, and we expect that this acquisition will enhance Mesa's financial performance this year, and into the future.  Bios has experienced approximately 10% organic growth in their business in recent years and, through integration into Mesa's Sales and Marketing organization, we are hopeful to maintain, or exceed, this level of growth going forward.  Mesa will be assuming the lease on the Bios facility and hiring the Bios employees, assuring no interruption in Bios' normal operation.  We welcome these new employees to Mesa, and I look forward to working with the Bios team in the future."

Harvey Padden, CEO of Bios International stated "Bios' mission has been to produce the highest –level flow standards, increasing the productivity and health of customers worldwide.  We're proud of the technologies and products we've created and we feel that Mesa will extend the benefits of our technology to an ever-growing customer base."

About Mesa Labs Founded in 1982, Mesa Labs manufactures instruments and disposable products utilized in connection with industrial applications and healthcare.  Products include DataTrace data loggers and Torqo bottle cap testing instruments for quality control applications in pharmaceutical, food, and medical device manufacturing; Medical meters used for quality control in dialysis clinics; and Biological Indicators used for sterilization quality control in a wide variety of markets.  Additional information about Mesa, and its products can be found at www.mesalabs.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties.  The Company's actual results could differ materially from those in any such forward-looking statements.  Additional information concerning important factors that could cause results to differ materially from those in any such forward-looking statement is contained in the Company's Annual Report on Form-10K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and from time to time in the Company's other reports on file with the Commission.

SOURCE Mesa Laboratories, Inc.