NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Bioinformatics firm Symyx Technologies today said that its board of directors has determined that a bid from Certara to acquire the firm for $5.75 per share in cash does not represent a superior offer to an earlier bid from Accelrys.
In April, Accelrys had offered to merge with Symyx in a deal valued at around $175 million, or around $5 per share for each share of Symyx. As reported by GenomeWeb Daily News sister publication BioInform, Certara had initially entered a competing bid of $6.75 per share, but last week it, and its private equity backer Vector Capital, lowered the bid to $5.75, valuing Symyx at around $200 million.
Among the reasons why Symyx's board favors the Accelrys proposal is that Symyx shareholders would own 50 percent of the combined firm, which it said would provide a greater upside. Symyx also said that Certara's offer does not provide "sufficient certainty to closure necessary to protect Symyx stockholders."
Symyx said that its board also has reaffirmed its commitment to support the definitive merger agreement with Accelrys.