NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Applera said today that its two groups, Celera and Applied Biosystems, would be formally separated on July 1.
The firm said that the board of directors approved the proposed separation, which will be accomplished by the redemption of all outstanding shares of Celera’s stock. Each share of the current Celera tracking stock will be exchanged for one share of the independent Celera Corp.
Last month, Celera filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission a preliminary prospectus to split off from parent company Applera. Officials from both Celera and ABI have hinted for months that a split of the two companies would be the likely outcome ofa review begun in August by investment firm Morgan Stanley, which was hired to explore options for restructuring the groups.
Completion of the split is subject to a number of conditions including "an opinion from counsel to Applera regarding the tax consequences of the separation," as well as the SEC declaring effective Celera's registration statement on or prior to June 15.
Kathy Ordoñez, the current president of Celera, will become CEO of the firm, which will retain its headquarters in Alameda, Calif. Celera will trade on the NASDAQ.
ABI will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange.