Life Technologies, a California-based biotechnology company, is planning a potential buyout and is in discussions with private equity firms.
Bloomberg reported that Blackstone Group and KKR & Co. are among the four potential investors for the deal. Some of the healthcare companies, too, have shown interest in the possible buyout.
A statement by Life said, "The board of directors of Life Technologies Corporation has retained Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Moelis & Company LLC to assist in its annual strategic review."
The possible takeover news resulted in the shares of the biotechnology company gaining more than 10 percent to close at $60.79 yesterday. This was the biggest gain in four years and the highest value since its shares started trading publicly in Feb. 1999, reported Bloomberg.
Following the rise in shares, the current market value of the company is estimated to be $10.5 billion.
Financial Post, a Canadian daily, reported that the deal could range between $65 and $75 per share. Life's "valuation has been relatively depressed," Ross Muken, an analyst with ISI Group, told Bloomberg. "They've had an ongoing battle in terms of messaging, positioning and capital deployment."
The documents reviewed by the Financial Post, stated that the company would like to be acquired either by a private equity firm as part of a leveraged buyout or by one of the larger global industry players. General Electric, Roche, Novartis, Honeywell, Danaher and ThermoFisher Scientific, were listed among the potential buyers.
Last year, world's biggest cancer drugs manufacturer, Roche made an aggressive attempt to buy Illumina Inc, a San Deigo-based biotechnology company. Shares in Illumina dipped 1 percent to $51.03, and its market value came down to nearly $6.4 billion at closing, reported Reuters.
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