Saturday, May 28, 2016
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc, the world's largest maker of scientific instruments, said on Friday it would buy FEI Co (FEIC.O) for about $4.2 billion to gain access to the company's electron microscopy technology that helps study proteins.
The $107.50 per share offer represents a premium of 13.7 percent to FEI's Thursday close of $94.58. FEI shares rose 14.2 percent to $108.04 at midday.
The news came two months after Thermo Fisher bought gene-sequencing products maker Affymetrix Inc to boost its product offerings with smaller, complementary acquisitions.
Thermo Fisher told analysts last week that it expected to deploy about $12 billion of capital over the next three years for these deals, which could drive a $3 billion upside in revenue, Cowen and Co analysts wrote in a note.
The analysts also estimated a 75 cent per share benefit to earnings in 2019.
Hillsboro, Oregon-based FEI designs, makes and supports high-performance electron microscopes that provide images and information at micro, nano and picometer scales which are used by life sciences companies to make discoveries.
The electron microscopy platform complements Thermo Fisher's mass spectrometry systems which help identify the chemical constitution of a substance.
The deal also allows Thermo Fisher to utilize FEI's nano-prototyping technologies to develop devices which are increasingly getting smaller and more complex.
FEI has more than 3,000 employees worldwide and generated revenue of $930 million in 2015.
Thermo Fisher said the transaction would immediately add to its earnings.
JP Morgan is Thermo Fisher's financial adviser and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz its legal counsel.
Goldman Sachs & Co is FEI's financial adviser and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati its legal counsel.
Source : reuters.com
