Siemens Healthineers agreed to buy Varian Medical Systems for about US$16.4 billion in cash in the biggest medical acquisition of the year, reported Bloomberg.
The German medical technology company offered US$177.5 a share for the Palo Alto, California-based business, 24% more than its closing price on Friday, July 31. The bid will be financed through both debt and equity, Siemens Healthineers said in a statement on Sunday.
The deal would give Healthineers a sizable market share in the rapidly growing field of cancer treatment where it has little presence currently. Siemens Healthineers stated the purchase will have a positive effect on earnings per share within the first 12 months of the closing.
The acquisition comes amid early signs of a pickup in deals after the spread of the coronavirus and a worsening economic outlook damped sentiment this year. Deal activity in the medical devices industry is also on the rise, with Thermo Fisher Scientific’s proposed acquisition of Qiagen NV for more than US$10 billion and Smiths Group mulling the sale of its medical equipment unit.
The purchase will bring together two partners that have collaborated for more than a decade in areas such as radiotherapy diagnostics for cancer treatments.
Full Content: Bloomberg
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