1. Thermo Fisher — PPD — $17.4B

The two companies entered into a definitive agreement for Thermo Fisher (NYSE:TMO) to buy PPD (NSDQ:PPD) at a price of $47.50 per share, totaling $17.4 billion, plus the assumption of approximately $3.5 billion of net debt. That represented a premium of approximately 24% to the unaffected closing price of PPD’s common stock as of Tuesday, April 13, 2021, the last day of trading before the announced merger.

Wilmington, North Carolina-based PPD provides clinical research and laboratory services to enable customers to accelerate innovation and increase drug development productivity. The company has more than 26,000 employees operating across 50 countries. It reported revenue of $4.7 billion in 2020 and in 2021 became a part of Thermo Fisher’s laboratory products and services business segment.

Waltham, Massachusetts-based Thermo Fisher said at the time of the merger that it expected the transaction to be immediately and significantly accretive to its adjusted EPS, adding $1.40 in the first 12 months after close.

“The acquisition of PPD is a natural extension for Thermo Fisher and will enable us to provide these customers with important clinical research services and partner with them in new and exciting ways as they move a scientific idea to an approved medicine quickly, reliably and cost-effectively,” Thermo Fisher President and CEO Marc Casper said at the time of the announcement. “Longer term, we plan to continue to invest in and connect the capabilities across the combined company to further help our customers accelerate innovation and drive productivity while driving further value for our shareholders.”

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