The American Thermo Fisher has decided not to take over the German biotechnologist Qiagen. The parties had agreed that at least two-thirds of Qiagen’s shareholders should support the proposal.
In the end, not even half of the shares of the biotechnologist were offered, and Thermo Fisher withdraws its offer.
Qiagen, whose headquarters is in Venlo, has to pay medical company Thermo Fisher a hefty expense allowance of $ 95 million.
In July, the parties had made adjustments to the takeover proposal to get more shareholders behind the deal. For example, the Americans increased their offer for Qiagen, and the expense allowance was fixed.
Instead of three-quarters, the approval of two-thirds of the shareholders was also required. In the end, only 47 percent of the shares were offered.
Qiagen, which is mainly active in Germany, offers a variety of test products.
This year, the company is attracting a lot of attention because it has been offering medical instruments and materials to detect the coronavirus since January. The production capacity for these items has since been increased considerably.