Thermo Fisher Scientific and Olink Holding AB, a leading provider of next-generation proteomics solutions, announced that their respective boards of directors had approved Thermo Fisher’s proposal to acquire Olink for $26 per common share in cash, representing $26 per American Depositary Share (ADS) in cash. This represents a premium of about 74% to the closing price of Olink’s American Depositary Shares that traded on NASDAQ on October 16, 2023, the last trading day before the transaction announcement.
Thermo Fisher will commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding Olink common shares and the American Depositary Shares. And the deal values Olink at approximately $3.1 billion, including net cash of about $143 million.
Olink provides leading solutions for advanced proteomics discovery and development, enabling biopharmaceutical companies and leading academic researchers to gain an understanding of disease at the protein level rapidly and efficiently. And Olink’s proprietary technology, Proximity Extension Assay (PEA), provides high throughput protein analysis for the very large installed base of qPCR and next-generation sequencing readout systems in the market. With a library of over 5,300 validated protein biomarker targets, adoption of the technology has been very strong, leading to over 1,400 scientific publications. Based in Sweden, Olink has operations in the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
The deal, which is expected to be completed by mid-2024, is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, and completion of the tender offer. As part of the deal, Summa Equity AB, Olink’s largest shareholder and additional Olink shareholders and management, in aggregate holding more than 63% of Olink’s common shares, have entered into support agreements agreeing to tender into the tender offer. Thermo Fisher expects to fund the deal using cash on hand and debt financing. Upon completion, Olink will become part of Thermo Fisher’s Life Sciences Solutions segment.
Olink is on track to deliver over $200 million of revenue in 2024 and as part of Thermo Fisher, is expected to grow mid-teens organically. In the first full year of ownership, the deal is expected to be dilutive to adjusted EPS by $0.17. Excluding financing costs and non-cash deal related equity compensation costs, the deal is expected to be accretive by $0.10 in that period. Thermo Fisher expects to realize approximately $125 million of adjusted operating income from revenue and cost synergies by year five following close. The expected strong long-term business growth and synergy realization profile make the financial returns on the transaction very compelling.
KEY QUOTES:
“The acquisition of Olink underscores the profound impact that proteomics is having as our customers continue to advance life science research and precision medicine. Olink’s proven and transformative innovation is highly complementary to our leading mass spectrometry and life sciences platforms. Our company is uniquely positioned to bring this technology to customers enabling them to meaningfully accelerate discovery and scientific breakthroughs. We look forward to welcoming Olink’s colleagues to Thermo Fisher.”
— Marc N. Casper, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Thermo Fisher
“Olink is dedicated to improving the understanding of human biology by accelerating the use of next-generation proteomics and providing industry-leading data quality at unprecedented scale. Thermo Fisher’s deep life sciences expertise, global reach and proven operational excellence will enable significant opportunities for both customers and colleagues, while also providing immediate value to our shareholders.”
— Jon Heimer, CEO of Olink
