Thermo Fisher Completes Acquisition of Affymetrix

By Ezequiel Minaya 

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. said Thursday that it completed its acquisition of Affymetrix Inc. for $1.3 billion, following Affymetrix's rejection earlier in the week of a higher rival bid submitted by former executives of the company.

Thermo Fisher said the deal closed after Affymetrix stockholders approved the deal at a special meeting Thursday.

Last week, Origin Technologies Corp., a newly formed entity owned by former Affymetrix executives, increased its all-cash offer to $17 a share, valuing Affymetrix at about $1.58 billion and trumping its previous offer of $16.10 a share.

In January, Thermo Fisher agreed to buy Affymetrix for about $14 a share, or roughly $1.3 billion, in a bid to boost its biogenetic-analysis portfolio. The Thermo deal offered a 52% premium to Affymetrix's stock price before the announcement.

As a result of the completed transaction, Affymetrix stock will stop trading and won't be listed on the Nasdaq. Shares of Affymetrix rose 2 cents to $14.01 in afternoon trading Thursday.

On Monday, Origin dropped its pursuit after Affymetrix rejected its offer. At the time, Affymetrix said "the board found the risks to initiating and consummating a potential transaction with Origin outweighed the potential benefit."

Write to Ezequiel Minaya at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 31, 2016 14:43 ET (18:43 GMT)

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