Thermo Fisher Scientific Up 4% On Deal News

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc Co TMO shares are jumping this morning, gaining almost 4% on news that the company will pay about $3.5 billion in cash for Swedish company Phadia, a maker of blood test systems for allergy and auto-immune diseases. "The acquisition of Phadia is a major step forward in our strategy to enhance Thermo Fisher's global presence in specialty diagnostics, one of our key growth platforms,” said Marc N. Casper, president and chief executive officer of Thermo Fisher. “This transaction will provide Thermo Fisher with leading allergy and autoimmunity diagnostic testing technologies that expand our specialty diagnostics offerings. From a market perspective, Phadia has significant growth opportunities in the large, under-penetrated U.S. market, and can leverage our strong presence in emerging geographies to further accelerate growth. This transaction is another great example of our acquisition strategy to strengthen our position in growing markets, expand our customer offerings and create value for our shareholders.” “Thermo Fisher brings Phadia a significant opportunity to grow as part of the world leader in serving science,” said Magnus Lundberg, Phadia's chief executive officer. “We share a culture of innovation and a strong focus on customers, and I am confident that this is a winning combination for our employees and customers around the world.” Casper continued, “We look forward to welcoming Phadia's talented employees to the Thermo Fisher team. Together, we will offer our customers a wider range of leading technologies to improve diagnostics, further supporting our mission of enabling our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer.” At last check, shares of Thermo Fisher were up $2.27 to $65.01, a gain of 3.6% on 3.2 million shares. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. provides analytical instruments, equipment, reagents and consumables, software, and services for research, manufacture, analysis, discovery, and diagnostics.