Hologic Agrees to Buy Third Wave Technologies

Hologic Inc., a Bedford, MA-based medical equipment maker, has agreed to pay $580 million to acquire Third Wave Technologies Inc.., a molecular diagnostics company headquartered in Wisconsin.

“The combination of Hologic and Third Wave brings together two great companies that employ complementary technologies but share a common mission: to help save the lives of women,” Jack Cumming, Hologic’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. “Hologic is an established, diversified provider of diagnostic products and therapeutic devices. Third Wave’s HPV tests and other products currently in development employ a patented molecular diagnostic platform to help identify cervical cancer and other diseases at an early stage.”

Hologic said the sales agreement values Third Wave at $11.25 per share, representing about a 24 percent premium to Third Wave’s average trading price over the last three months.

The boards of directors of both companies unanimously approved the transaction in which Hologic is to acquire 100% of Third Wave’s stock in a cash tender offer to be followed by a merger to acquire any untendered shares, Hologic said.

The transaction, likely to completed in the third quarter, is expected to be modestly dilutive to Hologic’s adjusted earnings per share in the first full year after closing, and increasingly accretive thereafter, Hologic said.