Tuesday 29 March 2016

US-based gene testing company Affymetrix, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AFFX) board of directors has determined that the unsolicited merger proposal submitted by Origin Technologies Corp., LLC on 22 March does not constitute a Superior Proposal, as defined in Affymetrix' merger agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) and recommends against the Origin proposal, the company said.
Origin Technologies Corp., LLC is a newly created entity owned by a group of former Affymetrix executives, the company said. The company submitted a proposal to acquire Affymetrix, Inc. for USD 16.10 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately USD 1.5bn. In January, the boards of Thermo Fisher Scientific and Affymetrix agreed a deal under which Thermo Fisher's acquisition of Affymetrix for 14.00 per share in cash.