Dive Brief:
- Danaher plans to buy Cambridge, England-based Abcam for about $5.7 billion in cash, the companies announced on Monday.
- The acquisition would bring together two firms that make equipment and supplies for life sciences companies. Abcam, with a market capitalization of $5.2 billion, would operate as a standalone company under Washington, D.C.-based Danaher, which has a market cap of $191.7 billion.
- Danaher reportedly outbid other companies including Agilent Technologies, Reuters wrote on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Dive Insight:
Abcam, a maker of antibodies, reagents, biomarkers and assays for life science companies, began a review of strategic alternatives in June. A proxy battle waged this summer between the company’s founder and its CEO attracted “strategic inquiries from multiple parties,” Abcam said in a June statement.
The company evaluated more than 20 potential acquirers, Abcam said on Monday.
The agreement values Abcam at about $24 per share. The company’s shares traded at $22.36 on Monday morning, but they have risen about 88% since April. The increase is due to “solid business performance, activist investor activity, and takeover speculation, so today's [approximately] 3% premium is a bit deceptive, in our view,” Stifel analysts wrote in a research note on Monday.
The agreement is a “strategic positive” for Danaher, by allowing the company to enter the protein consumables market, the analysts wrote. They added that Abcam is a well-known brand with a “highly recurring customer base.”
Both Abcam’s and Danaher’s boards have voted to support the deal, the companies said. They aim to close the transaction in mid-2024, if they can get approval from regulators and Abcam shareholders.
The acquisition is expected to contribute $0.20 to Danaher’s adjusted earnings per share in the first year, according to the Stifel analysts. Abcam is expected to report 2024 revenues of $550 million, and the companies anticipate annual synergies of $75 million after five years, the analysts wrote.
