Thermo Fisher Scientific Expands Specialty Diagnostics Portfolio with Acquisition

Thermo Fisher Scientific has announced in a March 3, 2020 press release that its acquisition proposal for Qiagen has been unanimously approved by the company’s managing board and board of directors.

The acquisition proposal comprises 39 Euros (US$44) per share in cash, which represents a premium of approximately 23% to the closing price of Qiagen’s common stock on the Frankfurt Prime Standard. At current exchange rates, the transaction sets Qiagen’s value at approximately US$11.5 billion.

“We are excited to bring together our complementary offerings to advance our customers’ important work, from discovery to diagnostics,” said Marc N. Casper, chairman, president and CEO of Thermo Fisher Scientific, in the press release. “This acquisition provides us with the opportunity to leverage our industry-leading capabilities and R&D expertise to accelerate innovation and address emerging healthcare needs. For shareholders, we expect the transaction to be immediately accretive and to generate significant cost and revenue synergies.”

“Our vision at Qiagen has always been to make improvements in life possible with our differentiated sample to insight molecular testing solutions,” added Thierry Bernard, interim CEO of Qiagen N.V. and senior vice-president, head of the molecular diagnostics business area, in the press release. “This strategic step with Thermo Fisher will enable us to enter a promising new era and will give our employees the opportunity to have an even greater impact. The combination is designed to deliver significant cash value to our shareholders, while enabling us to accelerate the expansion of our solutions to provide customers worldwide with breakthroughs that advance our knowledge about the science of life and improve health outcomes.”

Source: Thermo Fisher Scientific