British biotech firm Abcam snapped up by Danaher for £4.5bn
British Biotech firm Abcam has been bought by US medical tech giant Danaher for $5.7bn (£4.5bn) .
Danaher will acquire Abcam for $24.00 per share, which it said was some 40 per cent above where Abcam stocks were trading at in the middle of May.
Abcam, which produces, distributes and sells protein research tools, is expected to function as a standalone operating company and brand once the deal is completed, sitting within Danaher’s Life Sciences segment.
Abcam said the deal has been “unanimously approved and recommended” by its board, but the offer still remains subject to shareholder approval.
Peter Allen, chair of Abcam, said: “Following a rigorous process, I’m confident this combination with Danaher maximises value for shareholders while delivering an excellent outcome for our employees and customers.”
Rainer Blair, chief executive of Danaher, said he “couldn’t be more excited to have Abcam join Danaher”.
“Abcam’s long track record of innovation, outstanding product quality and breadth of antibody portfolio positions them as a key partner for the scientific community,” he said.
Abcam is headquartered in Cambridge but listed in the US.
It delisted from London’s Alternative Investment Market in December, with the board arguing at the time that doing so would “remove certain complexities” that come with administering two listing regimes and a Nasdaq-only listing structure will attract the appropriate investor base “maximising the company’s ability to access deeper pools of capital”.