Abbott to pay $175 million for Ibis
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
Abbott is to pay $175 million for Ibis Biosciences after it exercised its option to buy the remaining equity ownership in the Isis Pharmaceuticals subsidiary. The move will strengthen Abbott's capabilities in identifying infectious agents in hospital and clinical settings. Earlier this year, Abbott invested $40 million in Ibis in exchange for 18.6% of Ibis's equity. Isis will receive earn-out payments tied to post-closing sales of Ibis systems, including instruments and assay kits. The transaction is expected to close in January 2009. Ibis's technology also has biodefence applications and use in microbial forensics (Scrip Online, July 3rd, 2008).