Life Technologies (FRA:IVN) Tangible Book per Share : €-3.66 (As of Sep. 2013)

Life Technologies Corp began operations as a California partnership in 1987 and incorporated in California in 1989. In 1997, the Company reincorporated as a Delaware corporation. On November 21, 2008, Invitrogen Corporation, a predecessor company to Life Technologies, completed the acquisition of Applied Biosystems, Inc. to form a new company called Life Technologies Corporation. The Company is a global life sciences company dedicated to improving the human condition. The Company's systems, consumables and services enable researchers and commercial markets to accelerate scientific exploration, to discoveries and developments that better the quality of life. The Company's products are also used in forensics, food and water testing and other industrial applications. The Company delivers a range of products and services, including systems, instruments, reagents, software, and custom services. Its growing portfolio of products includes innovative technologies for capillary electrophoresis-based sequencing, next generation sequencing, PCR, sample preparation, cell culture, RNA interference analysis, functional genomics research, proteomics and cell biology applications, as well as clinical diagnostic applications, forensics and animal, food, pharmaceutical and water testing analysis. The Company also provides its customers convenient and value-added purchasing options through thousands of sales and service professionals, e-commerce capabilities and onsite supply center solutions. The Company operates is business under three divisions: Molecular Biology Systems ('MBS'), Cell Systems ('CS'), and Genetic Systems ('GS'). The MBS division includes the molecular biology-based technologies, including basic and real-time PCR, RNAi, DNA synthesis, sample prep, transfection, cloning and protein expression profiling, protein analysis and thermo-cycler instrumentation. The CS division includes all product lines used in the study of cell function, including cell culture media and sera, stem cells and related tools, cellular imaging products, antibodies, drug discovery services and cell therapy related products. The GS division includes capillary electrophoresis systems and reagents and next generation sequencing systems and reagents, including the SOLiDTM and Ion TorrentTM systems, as well as reagent kits developed specifically for applied markets, such as forensics and food safety, animal health and pharmaceutical quality monitoring. The Company offers many different products and services and is continually developing and/or acquiring others. Some of its specific product categories include the following: 'High-throughput' gene cloning and expression technology; Pre-cast electrophoresis products; Antibodies; Magnetic beads; Molecular Probes fluorescence-based technologies; Transfection reagents; PCR and Real Time PCR systems and reagents; and RNA Interference reagents. The Company's manufacturing operations require a variety of raw materials, elec