In early March, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) announced a takeover QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE: QGEN) for $11.5 billion, or $43.64 per share in cash. The offer seemed high enough, as the target company only generated revenues of $1.53 billion in 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic complicated the deal. QIAGEN saw a surge in product demand used in COVID-19 testing, as net sales grew 16% in Q2:20 over the same quarter in 2019, so its shareholders thought Thermo Fisher’s needed to up its offer.
Thermo Fisher revised its offer to $49 per share on August 4, but it needed a minimum acceptance threshold of 66.67% from QIAGEN shareholders before the August 10 deadline. The new acquisition offer failed to meet the minimum vote, and the deal expired when Thermo Fisher decided not to launch another offer. QIAGEN will be required to pay Thermo Fisher $95 million in cash as part of the termination terms.
But QIAGEN is pushing on. The company announced last week that it will move forward with its acquisition of NeuMoDx Molecular, Inc.. an Ann-Arbor, Michigan based diagnostic company. QIAGEN already owned 19.9% of NeuoMoDX and will be acquiring the remaining 80.1% for $234 million.
QIAGEN expects NeuMoDx to provide significant sales contributions in the future based on its differentiation as a rapid, integrated PCR-based platform that offers a dedicated COVID-19 test as well as an expanding menu of tests for other infectious diseases, such as a new multiplex test combining analysis for influenza, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and the SARS-CoV-2 virus, expected to be launched in the second half of 2020.
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