Thermo Fisher Agrees To Buy Affymetrix For $1.3 Bln Cash

(RTTNews) - Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO) said late Friday that it has agreed to acquire Affymetrix Inc. (AFFX) for $14 per share cash, or $1.3 billion, which represents a premium of about 52 percent to Affymetrix's closing price Friday. Subject to approval from Affymetrix shareholders, Thermo Fisher expects the deal to close at the end of the second quarter. Thermo Fisher intends to use cash on hand and short-term debt to finance the transaction.

Shares of Affymetrix, which had been halted at $9.21 prior to the announcement, surged $4.59 or 49.84% to $13.80 in after hours.

Both companies boards of directors have unanimously approved the transaction. Affymetrix's eBioscience offering for cellular analysis will enhance Thermo Fisher's leading biosciences capabilities. Specifically, the company specializes in a range of antibodies, multiplex RNA, and protein and single-cell assays.

The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to Thermo Fisher's adjusted EPS, adding $0.10 of accretion in the first full year of ownership. Thermo Fisher expects to realize total synergies of about $70 million by year three following the close, consisting of about $55 million of cost synergies and about $15 million of adjusted operating income benefit from revenue-related synergies.