NEW YORK (AP) - General Electric Co. said Tuesday its GE Healthcare unit offered to buy Swedish-based Biacore International AB, a provider of protein interaction analysis, for 330 Swedish krona ($44.71) per share.
The deal, valued at about 3.22 billion Swedish krona ($436.3 million), was approved by Biacore's largest shareholder, Pfizer Health AB, which holds a stake of roughly 41 percent. Pfizer granted GE Healthcare a call option entitling it to purchase all of its Biacore shares until Sept. 30 at the offer price.
In addition, shareholders who own about 41.3 percent of Biacore have agreed to the offer.
Biacore's board of directors also recommended that shareholders accept GE's bid.
GE said that it made the offer because it was attracted to Biacore's systems for protein interaction analysis and that the company's products complement its own. Biacore's instruments are used by biotech and pharmaceutical firms as well as customers in the life sciences and food industries. The company has about 300 employees worldwide.
The offer represents a premium of 35 percent relative to Biacore's volume weighted average share price of 245 Swedish krona ($33.20) on the Stockholm Stock Exchange during the month ended June 19 and a premium of 17 percent relative to the closing share price of 282 Swedish krona ($38.21) on the Stockholm exchange on June 19, the last trading day before the offer was made.
GE Healthcare, which currently holds no Biacore shares, will pay for the transaction with funds from GE Medical Systems Information Technologies Inc.
Voting on the offer is expected to end on Aug. 10, with settlement by Aug. 15.