Thermo Fisher to Buy Life Technologies for $14B

Life Technologies (NASDAQ:LIFE) agreed to be scooped up by Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) on Monday for about $13.6 billion, marking one of the biggest takeover deals of the year.

Thermo will pay $76 a share for the Carlsbad, Calif.-based biotechnology company, representing a premium of 12% to Life’s closing stock price on Friday. Shares of Life rose about 8% to $73.40 in recent trade, while those of Thermo climbed 4.3%.

Life’s chief operating officer, Mark Stevenson, is expected to have a “significant leadership role” in the combined company and will be appointed to its board of directors, though neither party confirmed what position he will be taking.

The company will be one of the largest focused on research, specialty diagnostics and applied markets, while throwing Thermo Fisher into the highly-demanded field of genetic sequencing.

Thermo said the transaction will offer adjusted operating income synergies of $275 million in year three following the close and will be “immediately accretive” to Waltham, Mass.-based Thermo’s adjusted EPS.

“This transaction brings together two companies intent on accelerating innovation for our customers and achieving greater success in a highly competitive global industry,” Life CEO Gregory Lucier said in a statement.

Life last year had revenues of $3.8 billion under an umbrella of roughly 5,000 patents and licenses and 10,000 employees.

The boards of directors of both companies have approved of the transaction, which at this time is slated to close early in 2014 pending shareholders approval and other customary closing and regulatory nods.

Thermo Fisher has secured financing from J.P. Morgan (NYSE:JPM) and Barclays (NYSE:BCS) and anticipates splitting the payment into cash and debt while offering up to $4 billion in equity.