Anonymous party rescinds offer to buy Akoya Biosciences
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Akoya Biosciences' Marlborough headquarters
Mere weeks after making an unsolicited bid to buy Marlborough-based biotech firm Akoya Biosciences, the anonymous party has withdrawn its offer.
The unsolicited offer came May 21 after Akoya had already agreed in January to be acquired by Quanterix, a Billerica-based research corporation, in a move to form a $220-million entity. Still, Akoya’s board of directors announced it would consider the anonymous bid as it could reasonably result in a superior offer: one with a purchase price of at least $69.83 million.
But on Monday, the anonymous party decided to withdraw its offer as it declined to return a revised proposal with improved terms as requested by Akoya during discussions of the acquisition, according to a Tuesday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Thus, Akoya’s board is continuing to recommend and states it is fully committed to its original plan to be acquired by Quanterix. The deal will see Akoya survive as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Billerica firm, with Quanterix stockholders owning 70% of the company and Akoya stockholders holding the remaining 30%.
The acquisition will allow Akoya and Quanterix to create a fully integrated technology ecosystem used to identify and measure tissue and blood biomarkers, the first of its kind, according to the firms.
When the acquisition was originally announced on Jan. 9, Akoya said the transaction would close in the second quarter. The company’s most recent SEC filing did not include whether this timeline has been adjusted.
Founded in 2015, Akoya has recently expanded its company footprint, opening a new 32,000-square-foot facility in May in an effort to meet the growing demand for spatial biology imaging equipment. The building, named the Operations and Manufacturing Center of Excellence, houses research and development, manufacturing, quality control, warehouse, and distribution space.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
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