Archangels, Scotland's biggest private investor group, has accepted an offer from Swiss group SGS for the sale of Vitrology, the Glasgow-based biotechnology venture.
Vitrology, which employs 38 in Clydebank, joins an SGS network of 1350 sites employing 70,000 around the world.
Margaret Temple, Vitrology's chief executive, told The Herald: "It is a strong, strategic fit, and the intention is that the business will continue to grow in Scotland."
Vitrology was founded in 2007 as a biopharmaceutical contract testing operation, with key support from Archangel Informal Investment, its principal investor, with a total £1.2 million support in five years.
Based in a £1m facility at Clydebank Business Park, it moved into profit in 2010 and last year turned over more than £3m. Some senior management are thought to have share options which have been triggered on the deal.
Ms Temple said: "Our success is due in large part to the significant investment we were fortunate to receive from Archangels and Scottish Enterprise's Scottish Co-Investment Fund, which has given us the means with which to grow our presence in the life sciences sector and gain international reach and visibility."
Archangels is Scotland's biggest investor in life sciences and has led funding totalling £80m to the sector in the past 20 years.
John Waddell, chief executive, said: "The management team at Vitrology are experts in their field and understand the market in which they operate inside out - This deal demonstrates the capability that the biotech industry in Scotland has in attracting
global attention and in turn investment."
He added: "The importance of successful exits cannot be underestimated in the angel market, it gets money back into the system and installs belief among the angel investment community and enables capital to be invested into new ventures."
The Archangel syndicate has around 100 high net worth members who have invested more than £55m into some 60 early-stage companies since 1992.
Chris Kirk, chief executive of SGS, said the deal "creates an ideal platform for further deployment in virology and molecular biology, to be leveraged within our life science global network".
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