Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ:LMNX) rose sharply Monday, as DiaSorin S.p.A. announced plans to acquire Luminex for a price of $37.00 per share in an all-cash deal.
The deal represents a 23% premium to holders of Luminex based on the closing price on Feb. 24, the day before reports of a potential deal surfaced. The acquisition represents a 12% premium to Luminex’s Friday closing price. The acquisition of the COVID-19 test kit maker is expected to close within Q3 and is subject to Luminex holder approval as well as antitrust and CFIUS regulatory requirements, according to a statement.
In March, the Austin-based Luminex submitted an Emergency Use Authorization application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the company’s new multi-analyte respiratory panel combining Flu A/B and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) targets with the SARS-CoV-2 target.
The ARIES ® Flu A/B & RSV+SARS-CoV-2 Assay can be run on all Luminex ARIES ® Systems. This submission represents completion of a key milestone in a Luminex funding award from the Biomedical Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which helped support the rapid development and validation of the assay.
Respiratory infections such as COVID-19 and influenza can be challenging to differentiate and diagnose because they often have overlapping symptoms. Luminex designed the combined assay to quickly deliver clear answers about these infections from a single test and, thereby, help clinical-care teams treat patients more effectively.
LMNX shares jumped $3.72, or 11.3%, to $36.67.