Germany’s antitrust regulatory agency, the Bundeskartellamt, has moved into a phase II review of Thermo Fisher’s acquisition of Swedish proteomics firm Olink.
In a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing on Olink’s website, the companies noted that “[t]he parties currently expect the Phase 2 review by the German Bundeskartellamt to be completed by mid-2024, which is consistent with the expected timeline of the other ongoing regulatory reviews, including the review by the CMA [the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority].”
The CMA has been conducting a phase I review of the acquisition over the last month; the agency has opened an invitation to comment until February 23.
Thermo Fisher’s acquisition of Olink for $3.1 billion -- under the terms of the deal, $26 per common share in cash -- was announced in October.
The announcement of the Bundeskartellamt’s review caused Olink shares to drop more than 8% on the Nasdaq Tuesday; a smaller drop in share price occurred with the disclosure of the CMA’s review in late December.
In the SEC filing, the companies noted that they are “continuing to work cooperatively with the regulators” and anticipate that the regulatory reviews and the transaction itself will be completed by mid-2024.
