NEW YORK – Shares of proteomics firm Olink fell slightly in Friday morning trading on the Nasdaq following a disclosure by the company that UK regulators would be investigating its pending acquisition by Thermo Fisher Scientific.
In a Dec. 22 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Olink said that the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has notified both firms that it intends to open a Phase 1 investigation into the deal, valued at $3.1 billion.
Olink also disclosed that it has withdrawn a notification to German regulators and will refile it in mid-January.
Thermo Fisher announced in October plans to acquire the Swedish company for $26.00 per share in cash.
Shares of Olink fell about 3 percent on Friday morning to $25.26.
In a Phase 1 investigation, CMA will determine whether it believes that a merger will result in a "realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition," according to an agency website. The investigation is limited to 40 days. Thermo Fisher is a major supplier of mass spectrometry instruments used in proteomics, which are complementary to Olink's multiplex immunoassay-based proteomics technology.
The firms will submit a draft merger notification filing to CMA in January 2024, and the deal is subject to approval by the UK regulator. "The parties are working cooperatively with the regulators and continue to expect the offer to be completed by mid-2024," Olink wrote in the filing.