Gen-Probe bowed out of the battle with Solvay after the company hiked its offer up to E6.50 per share.
The bidding battle between Solvay Pharmaceuticals and Gen-Probe over Innogenetics has come to an end, with Solvay the winner. Solvay’s latest offer values molecular diagnostic firm Innogenetics at €200.7 million, or $316.04 million.
Solvay upped its conditional tender offer from €5.75 per share to €6.50 per share, and Gen-Probe has decided to back out. Even though Solvay’s initial acquisition price was met by a counteroffer from Gen-Probe of €6.10 per share, Gen-Probe says that it will not increase its proposal this time around.
“We believe the disciplined analytical process we used to value Innogenetics resulted in a full and fair offer, and a higher bid therefore does not make financial sense for us,” explains Hank Nordhoff, Gen-Probe’s chairman and CEO. “Our existing clinical diagnostics and blood screening businesses remain healthy year-to-date, and we continue to focus on growing them in the U.S. and internationally.”
The $6.50 per share represents a 74% premium to Innogenetics closing price on April 24, the day before Solvays made the initial offer. Solvay expects to close the transaction in the second half of this year.
