NEW YORK – PerkinElmer said on Thursday morning it has agreed to acquire Oxford Immunotec for about $591 million.
Under the terms of the deal, Waltham, Massachusetts-based PerkinElmer will pay $22 in cash for each outstanding share of Oxford Immunotec's stock, or a 28.3 percent premium to the closing price of the Abingdon, UK-based company's on Jan. 5, the last practicable date prior to the date of the deal. It is also a 53.5 percent premium to the 90-trading-day, volume-weighted average price of Oxford Immunotec's shares for the period from Oct. 8, 2020 to Jan. 5, 2021.
The acquisition will enable PerkinElmer to grow its infectious disease testing portfolio to include tuberculosis detection. PerkinElmer said that it will be able to combine its channel expertise and workflow and testing capabilities with Oxford Immunotec's T-cell immunology capabilities and proprietary interferon gamma release assay, or IGRA, test kits for latent tuberculosis.
In 2018, Quest Diagnostics reached a deal to buy Oxford Immunotec's US laboratory testing business, and the companies formed a strategic collaboration in the US for sales of Oxford Immunotec's IGRA kits for latent tuberculosis.
In June, there were reports that a consortium of private equity firms had approached Oxford Immunotec with a $400 million deal to buy the company, though it declined to comment at the time.
Oxford Immunotec had 275 employees globally as of the end of September with total revenues from continuing operations of $39.2 million for the first nine months of 2020. For its fiscal 2019, it had $73.7 million in revenues from continuing operations.
PerkinElmer said that the deal is anticipated to be modestly accretive to its non-GAAP earnings in the first year after its completion, and that Oxford Immunotec's sales growth is expected to exceed that of its Diagnostics franchise for the foreseeable future.
"Tuberculosis remains one of the leading infectious causes of death, with close to one quarter of the world's population infected. We believe Oxford Immunotec's diagnostic testing solution plays an important role in slowing the spread and saving lives," PerkinElmer President and CEO Prahlad Singh said in a statement. "Oxford Immunotec's highly sensitive test and their team's passion for solving complex health issues make it a natural fit with PerkinElmer's mission, and together, we believe will accelerate development of robust solutions to help detect infectious disease."
In an email, Masoud Toloue, VP and GM of Diagnostics for PerkinElmer, in particular noted the role that Oxford Immunotec's T-Spot.TB test plays in the global fight against TB. "We recognize the distinct clinical and logistical advantages of the test and see a great opportunity to leverage our automation capabilities and channel to bring TB testing to more customers around the world.Â
"PerkinElmer’s goal with the acquisition is to maximize the growth and success of Oxford Immunotec’s TB offerings. We aim to work together to identify how our resources, skills and technologies can augment our success by working together," he said.
Oxford Immunotec CEO Peter Wrighton-Smith added that his firm believes the deal is "great for our shareholders, our employees, and our customers. Access to PerkinElmer's global reach and automation experience will enable us to accelerate our growth journey and make a growing impact in the field of infectious disease."
Guggenheim Securities is the financial advisor to PerkinElmer on the deal, while an affiliate of Perella Weinberg UK is the financial advisor to Oxford Immunotec.
In early morning trading Thursday on the Nasdaq PerkinElmer's shares were up more than 2 percent to $159.75. Oxford Immunotec's shares, also traded on the Nasdaq, was up more than 26 percent to $21.81.Â