BGI-Shenzhen said today that through a subsidiary, it successfully completed its tender offer for all outstanding shares of Complete Genomics, setting the stage for completion of the six-month-old merger deal between the Chinese sequencing giant and the U.S. provider of sequencing technology and services.
BGI said approximately 31,403,880 shares representing about 88% of Complete Genomics’ common stock had been validly tendered toward the offer when it expired at 11:59 p.m. last night. That’s an increase of 1% or 688,255 shares since March 1, the last time BGI extended the tender offer.
BGI said its subsidiary Beta Acquisition will effect a “short-form” merger under Delaware law, transforming Complete Genomics into a wholly owned BGI subsidiary without a meeting of the California company’s shareholders.
In a deal announced in September, BGI offered to buy Complete Genomics’ outstanding stock for $3.15 per share cash. Complete Genomics shares will cease being traded on NASDAQ, where they closed yesterday at $3.14 per share. BGI extended its tender offer to buy Complete Genomics numerous times over the past six months, while Chinese and U.S. regulators reviewed the deal.
The final regulatory hurdle was surmounted on Tuesday, when BGI and Complete Genomics said they obtained approval from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of the People’s Republic of China for the acquisition.
BGI has promised it would keep Complete Genomics in the U.S., where the company is headquartered in Mountain View, CA. BGI operates a number of genome sequencing centers internationally, while Complete Genomics, established in 2005, offers whole human genome sequencing services based on its Complete Genomics Analysis (CGA™) Platform, which combines the firm’s DNA nanoarrays and ligation-based read technology with informatics and data management software.