Quidel Weighing Deal With $12 Billion Testing Firm Qiagen

(Bloomberg) -- Quidel Corp., the U.S. diagnostics firm, is weighing a combination with Qiagen NV in another sign of ongoing appetite for dealmaking in the medical equipment industry, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Quidel has made an preliminary approach to Qiagen to gauge interest in a potential deal, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Shares of Qiagen have risen nearly 6% this year, giving it a market value of about 10.3 billion euros ($12.4 billion).

Deliberations are at an early stage, and there’s no certainty they will result in a deal, the people said. A representative for Qiagen declined to comment, while a spokesperson for Quidel didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Qiagen agreed last year to be acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. for 43 euros per share, though the deal was scrapped in August after the bid failed to win shareholder support. The Dutch company has been the target of regular takeover speculation since that transaction fell apart, and other suitors could also emerge.

San Diego-based Quidel in December received approval for its rapid Covid-19 test to be used in the U.S. The company, which has a market value of about $10 billion, expects to be able to produce 600 million of the QuickVue tests per year by the end of 2021.

Health-care companies have announced $69 billion of deals this year, nearly quadruple the amount from the same period in 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Transactions have included AmerisourceBergen Corp.’s $6.5 billion acquisition of a majority stake in the wholesale business of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., as well as Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc’s $7.2 billion purchase of cannabinoid-drug maker GW Pharmaceuticals Plc.

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