Only one week into November and deal value stands at $2.5 billion. Not a bad start, given that October’s full deal value totals $9.4 billion. At least 60% of November’s spending comes from one deal, Illumina‘s (NASDAQ: ILMN) acquisition of Pacific Biosciences (NASDAQ: PACB) for $1.2 billion.
The all-cash price consists of $8.00 per share for Pacific Biosciences (13.4x revenue), which Illumina’s press release notes is a 71% premium to PACB’s 30 trading day volume weighted average share price as of the market close on October 31, 2018. PACB closed at $4.45 that day, but has soared to around $7.75 as of November 9.
For Illumina, the acquisition complements its own sequencing products with accurate long-read gene sequencing capabilities. Illumina already has accurate short-read sequencing platforms. Adding Pacific Biosciences positions Illumina to offer integrated workflows and novel innovations to help researchers advance their discoveries faster and clinicians to offer new tests economically. In short, it paves the way to a more perfect view of a genome.
Both boards of directors have approved the transaction, which is expected to close in mid-2019. Pacific Biosciences shareholders have yet to weigh in.
