(Bloomberg) -- Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. ended its $12 billion agreement to purchase Qiagen NV after its tender offer for the Dutch maker of medical testing equipment fell short, with activist investor Davidson Kempner Capital Management leading opposition to one of the biggest deals in the health sector this year.
Only about 47% of Qiagen shares were tendered, Thermo Fisher said in a statement Thursday, meaning the minimum threshold for acceptance of the proposed deal hadn’t been met. Qiagen will pay Thermo Fisher a reimbursement of $95 million, according to the statement.
Davidson Kempner is “pleased that the majority of investors have rejected the wholly inadequate offer made by Thermo Fisher Scientific,” according to an emailed statement from the fund manager.
Qiagen “respects the views of shareholders” and will focus on hitting its financial targets this year and through 2021, the company said in a statement. It plans to close its acquisition of NeuMoDx Inc. and expects the pandemic to continue supporting increased demand for its portfolio of molecular diagnostics products.
Some shareholders had been seeking a higher price for Qiagen than the 43 euros ($49) per share Thermo Fisher had offered. Davidson Kempner had said that a price between 48 euros and 52 euros a share was more appropriate and had urged others to reject Thermo Fisher’s offer, which had been increased from an initial 39 euros.
Qiagen shares traded in the Netherlands were up 0.6% following the announcement. Shares of Thermo Fisher declined 0.4% to $414.63 at 9:33 a.m. in New York.
The Dutch company has ramped up production this year to supply tests and chemicals for the coronavirus. The company in July said annual sales may rise as much as 18%, fueled by the pandemic.
The purchase would have ranked as one of Thermo Fisher’s largest after the company spent $13.6 billion for Life Technologies Corp. to gain DNA-testing capabilities in 2014.
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