The Italian in vitro diagnostic developer DiaSorin has plunked down about $1.8 billion for the molecular test maker Luminex, plus its portfolio of multiplexed assays and screeners for COVID-19.
The all-cash deal represents a price of $37 per share, or about a 12% premium over its most recent closing stock price.
Based in Austin, Texas, the 25-year-old Luminex provides genetic- and protein-based diagnostics for academic and scientific research, alongside its own lines of flow cytometers and cellular analysis instruments.
It also maintains clinical tests for infectious diseases, including a CE-marked COVID-19 test. In March, the company submitted two combination panels—which detect the coronavirus as well as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and other conditions—to the FDA for emergency review.
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DiaSorin hopes all this will complement its work in immune system tests—and provide new products across multiple sectors that its international sales teams can add to their lineups. The deal will also give DiaSorin a larger U.S. footprint in CLIA labs and hospitals, with 25,000 placed analyzers—to help create “a unique combination of diagnostic specialists," according to CEO Carlo Rosa.
"Luminex perfectly fits with our strategy to grow our positioning in the molecular diagnostics space, to broaden our presence in the U.S., and to create additional value through life science offerings,” Rosa said in a statement.
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After the deal closes in the third quarter, with Luminex and its 1,300 worldwide employees merging with a new U.S. DiaSorin subsidiary, the two companies project combined 2020 revenue of about $1.5 billion.