NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Fujifilm Holdings today announced that it will acquire Cellular Dynamics International for $307 million, via an all-cash tender offer to be followed by a second-step merger.
Fujifilm will buy all issued and outstanding shares of CDI's common stock for $16.50 per share, a premium of 108 percent to Cellular Dynamics' closing price of $7.94 on the Nasdaq on March 27. Cellular Dynamics will continue to run its operations in Madison, Wis. and Novato, Calif. as a consolidated subsidiary of Fujifilm.
Shares of Cellular Dynamics were up over 107 percent to $16.45 in morning trading today on the Nasdaq. Under the terms of the agreement, the tender offer will begin no later than April 6, 2015 and is expected to close during the second quarter of 2015.
Fujifilm will finance the transaction from the cash on its balance sheet, the firm said in a statement.
Cellular Dynamics was founded in 2004 and began trading on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol "ICEL" in July 2013. The firm had total revenues of $16.7 million in the year ended Dec. 31, 2014. The firm develops and manufactures human cell lines on an industrial scale, including human induced pluripotent stem cells used in research and drug discovery.
Fujifilm has transitioned into other markets besides traditional photographic film, including areas of healthcare such as preventative medicine, diagnostics, and treatment, the firm said in a statement. Currently, the firm offers recombinant peptides that can be used as cellular scaffolding in conjunction with Cellular Dynamics' products, and it owns Japan Tissue Engineering, which markets regenerative medicine products in Japan.
"By combining the technologies and knowhow of both companies, we will seek synergies and efficiencies to be more competitive in the field of drug discovery and regenerative medicine," Fujifilm CEO Shigetaka Komori said in a statement.
Goldman Sachs is acting as financial advisor to Fujifilm, and JP Morgan is acting as financial advisor to Cellular Dynamics.