Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) said on Friday that it has signed an agreement to acquire Stratagene Corp. (NASDAQ: STGN), a manufacturer of specialized life science research and diagnostic products.

The Santa Clara Calif.-based firm said that each share of Stratagene common stock will be converted into the right to receive a cash payment of $10.94. The price is a 29 percent premium to Stratagene's Thursday closing price of $8.51 per share.

We see Stratagene's technology, products and expertise as being highly complementary to Agilent's life sciences portfolio, enabling us to offer our customers more complete workflow solutions, said Nick Roelofs, vice president and general manager of Agilent's Life Sciences Solutions Unit.

Stratagene's products are used by scientists in academia, government research and industry in molecular biology, genomics, proteomics, drug discovery and toxicology. La Jolla, Caif.-based Stragene employs more than 400 employees worldwide, who are expected to join Agilent

The acquisition is expected to be closed in approximately 90 days, subject to certain closing conditions.

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