Shares of Italian diagnostic specialist DiaSorin surged 7% on Monday after announcing a deal to buy COVID-19 testing kit maker Luminex Corp. $(LMNX)$ for around $1.8 billion.
DiaSorin will pay $37 for each share of the U.S. company that develops, manufactures and sells proprietary biological testing technologies, it said in a press release on Sunday. The price represents a 24% premium to Luminex's close on Feb. 24, the date prior to press speculation about a potential deal.
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, pending regulatory approvals. Acquiring Luminex will boost DiaSorin's presence in molecular diagnostics, particularly in the "attractive and high growth syndromic multiplex panel testing market," said a team of Jefferies analysts led by Peter Welford, in a note to clients.