Roche To Buy Nimblegen

Roche has agreed to acquire Nimblegen Systems Inc., a Madison, Wis.-based maker of microarrays for the life sciences market, for $272.5 million. The deal comes shortly after Nimblegen had filed for a $75 million IPO, and represents more immediate liquidity for shareholders like Skyline Ventures (14.04%), Cargill Ventures (13.37%), Schott AG (12.71%), Brookside Capital Partners (7.77%), Venture Investors LLC (6.55%), the State of Wisconsin Investment Board and Baird Venture Partners. Nimblegen had raised around $66 million in VC funding since 2000. www.roche.com www.nimblegen.com