IPOs in registration Invitrogen Corp. –

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Invitrogen Corp., a provider of research services to corporate, academic and government entities, filed to go public December 10. The company plans to offer 3 million shares at approximately $15 each.

Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, NationsBanc Montgomery Securities and Warburg Dillon Read underwrote the initial public offering, which will leave 12.6 million shares outstanding.

TA Associates, the company’s only venture backer and lone selling shareholder, will peddle 500,000 of its 2,202,942 shares.

Invitrogen manufactures kits that quicken the process of gene cloning, expression and analysis for molecular biologists and other scientists involved in academic, corporate, government, and agricultural research. The company offers more than 250 kits, such as TOPO TA Cloning and FastTrack, which simplify painstaking and time-consuming research and improve success rates. Invitrogen markets its products in 30 countries.

According to the company, researchers in 1997 spent more than $1.2 billion on molecular biology products and supplies. Invitrogen believes its gene cloning, expression and analysis kit market will continue to expand due to increasing levels of government funding for genomics and molecular biology research, as well as the proliferation of high-throughput molecular biology research techniques.

The proceeds expected to be earned in the offering will be used for research and development and potential acquisitions.

The company has been profitable for the past several years, earning $2.3 million in the first nine months of 1998 and $2.6 million in 1997.

Kurt Jaggers, a managing director of TA Associates, joined the company’s board of directors in June 1997.

Invitrogen – Selected Financial

(in thousands, except per share data)

Year Ended December 31, Nine Months Ended Sept. 30,

1995 1996 1997 1997* 1998

Revenue 14,342 19,121 24,965 18,263 22,968

Net income 1,156 1,744 2,633 1,995 2,338

Net income per share 0.10 0.19 0.25 0.20 0.20

*Unaudited