NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) - TriPath Imaging said today that it has signed a definitive merger agreement with Becton, Dickinson, under which BD will acquire the 93.5 percent of outstanding TriPath shares that it does not currently own in a deal worth approximately $350 million.
BD announced its intent to acquire TriPath last month. The companies have been collaborating to identify cancer biomarkers since 2001, when BD acquired an approximately 6.5-percent equity stake in TriPath.
Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, BD will pay $9.25 for each share of TriPath Imaging common stock, an 81 percent premium to $5.12, TriPath’s closing share price on Aug. 14, when BD announced its proposal to acquire the firm.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2006.
TriPath, based in Burlington, NC, develops and sells products for cancer diagnostics and treatment. The company’s TriPath Oncology subsidiary develops molecular diagnostic products for malignant melanoma and cancers of the cervix, breast, ovary, and prostate.