(Bloomberg) -- Medical-testing company Meridian Bioscience Inc. agreed to be purchased for $1.53 billion by a consortium led by Seoul-based device maker SD Biosensor Inc.
Under the proposed terms of the transaction, an affiliate formed by SD Biosensor and private-equity firm SJL Partners LLC will pay Cincinnati-based Meridian’s shareholders $34 a share in cash, the companies said Thursday in a statement. The deal is subject to approval by Meridian shareholders.
The price represents a premium of about 32% compared with Meridian’s closing stock price on the day before the consortium’s first offer before the market open on March 18, according to the statement.
After Covid-19 raised demand for testing services worldwide, companies are now looking for successful longer-term strategies as the crisis recedes. The deal will help SD Biosensor access the US market, while giving Meridian expertise to develop new products, the companies said.
“SD Biosensor’s R&D capabilities and mass production know-how, Meridian Bioscience’s US distribution network and expertise in the regulated U.S. market, and SJL Partners’ strong management expertise will enable compelling synergies,” SD Biosensor Chairman Young Shik Cho said in the statement.
The companies said in the statement that Meridian would continue to operate as an independent entity after the deal is completed, and that its leadership was expected to remain in place.
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