Thermo Fisher to acquire Olink for $26.00 per share in cash, sees accretion

Thermo Fisher (TMO) and Olink (OLK) announced that their respective boards of directors have approved Thermo Fisher’s proposal to acquire Olink for $26.00 per common share in cash, representing $26.00 per American Depositary Share, or ADS, in cash. This represents a premium of approximately 74% to the closing price of Olink’s American Depositary Shares that trade on Nasdaq on October 16, the last trading day prior to the announcement of the transaction. Thermo Fisher will commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding Olink common shares and all of the American Depositary Shares. The transaction values Olink at approximately $3.1B which includes net cash of approximately $143M. Headquartered in Sweden, Olink has operations in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. The transaction, 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 transaction, 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 acquisition 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 $200M 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 transaction is expected to be dilutive to adjusted EPS by 17c. Excluding financing costs and non-cash deal related equity compensation costs, the transaction is expected to be accretive by 10c in that period. Thermo Fisher expects to realize approximately $125M of adjusted operating income1 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.