EQT Nears €9.6B Takeover of Qiagen at €46.50 a Share; Board Approval Could Come Wednesday
QGEN sits 54% above its 52-week low of $32.53 on elevated volume (3.6× avg).
Summary
EQT is close to a deal to buy Qiagen for roughly €9.6 billion ($10.8 billion), or €46.50 a share, and the board could approve it as soon as Wednesday, per Bloomberg. That follows Tuesday's report that EQT moved to a binding offer above $50 a share and was in advanced talks. The €46.50 figure is the first concrete price on the table, and it sits above the current $49.97 ADR price, so the stock is trading toward the deal rather than away from it. Qiagen has been running a strategic review with Moelis and Goldman Sachs since March, and TPG and Bain had also circled the company, so a board sign-off would end a competitive process. A final decision hasn't been made and both sides declined to comment. Watch for a formal announcement, which the report says could land Wednesday.
At the time of this announcement, QGEN was trading at $49.97 on NYSE in the Life Sciences sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $10.3B. The 52-week trading range was $32.53 to $57.82. This news item was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10. Source: Seeking Alpha.