Affymetrix this week again pushed back the date it expects to acquire eBioscience.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based array vendor now hopes the deal will close by the end of the first quarter, citing continued work related to financing as well as a lawsuit related to the acquisition, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Affy in November announced a plan to acquire flow cytometry and immunoassay reagents provider eBioscience for $330 million in cash and debt (BAN 12/6/2011). The company originally said the deal would close by the end of 2011, but on Dec. 28 delayed the proposed acquisition to January 2012, citing financing arrangements.
A day later, TangCapital Partners, a holder of one of the company's 3.5 percent senior convertible notes due 2038, filed class action litigation in the Superior Court of California in the County of Santa Clara, alleging a number of claims, including that the acquisition would constitute a "fundamental change" under the indenture governing the notes (BAN 1/3/2012).
Tang Capital Partners is seeking "unspecified damages, temporary and permanent injunctive relief against completion of the eBioscience acquisition, and other remedies," Affy said at the time.
Further details were not disclosed.