Thermo Fisher Scientific to Complete $3.1 Billion Acquisition of Olink Proteomics Leader

Thermo Fisher Scientific, a giant in the global scientific services field, is about to complete the acquisition of Olink Holding AB, a well-known leader in non-mass spectrometry proteomics based in Sweden.

On July 8, Olink announced that the UK's antitrust authority, the CMA, had ruled to approve Thermo Fisher Scientific's acquisition. The transaction had already received approval from Germany's antitrust authority, the German Bundeskartellamt, on June 17, 2024.

Given that neither the U.S. FTC nor the China National Market Supervision Administration, the two major antitrust regulatory bodies, have explicitly opposed this acquisition, all legal conditions for the acquisition have been met. Olink has announced that the final completion of the acquisition is scheduled for 5:00 PM Eastern Time on July 29, 2024.

On October 17, 2023, Thermo Fisher Scientific made its initial announcement of the offer to acquire Olink, agreeing to purchase all shares of Olink on Nasdaq at a price of $31 per share in an all-cash transaction. This represents a premium of approximately 74% over Olink's previous closing price.

This acquisition includes the absorption of Olink's $143 million in net cash, as well as the company’s international operations in Boston, Tokyo, and Shanghai. Olink has a global workforce of 667 employees, including 224 members of the commercial team.

Thermo Fisher Scientific expects that by the end of 2024, Olink's annual sales are expected to exceed $200 million, with an anticipated organic growth rate of approximately 15% thereafter. This forecast is based on Olink’s revenue performance in Q2 2023, during which the company reported $29.4 million in revenue, with more than half coming from its service business.

It is reported that Olink's core technology – Proximity Extension Assay (PEA) – can run on qPCR instruments and next-generation sequencers installed in laboratories, enabling high-throughput protein analysis. This technology is built on an extensive library of over 5,300 protein biomarker targets and has been applied in approximately 1,400 scientific papers, demonstrating its strong market potential and research value.

Notably, on October 4, 2023, the journal Nature published three research papers in the same issue, utilizing Olink's Explore platform and data from the UK Biobank to analyze approximately 3,000 proteins from samples of over 54,000 participants. One of the papers identified associations between more than 14,000 common genetic variants and plasma proteins, with over 80% of these being previously unknown. Another paper uncovered rare genetic variants associated with plasma protein levels in the UK Biobank, highlighting the value of rare genetic variations in plasma protein abundance and proteomics for therapeutic discovery.

It can be said that Thermo Fisher Scientific values these revolutionary breakthroughs. Marc Casper, President and CEO of Thermo Fisher Scientific, previously stated in a statement: "The acquisition of Olink highlights the profound impact of proteomics on advancing life science research and precision medicine." Olink's innovative products are highly aligned with Thermo Fisher's leading mass spectrometry and life sciences platforms, further driving the development of life science research and precision medicine.

This transaction has also elicited a positive market response. Investors and analysts generally believe that Olink's technology is highly complementary to Thermo Fisher Scientific's existing life science and mass spectrometry product lines, which will bring new growth opportunities for Thermo Fisher.

Mass spectrometry has always been a crucial support for the development of proteomics. In 2005, Thermo Fisher Scientific launched the first Orbitrap high-resolution accurate mass spectrometer and has since continuously improved its resolution, sensitivity, specificity, and speed. In June 2023, Thermo Fisher Scientific introduced the Orbitrap Astral mass spectrometer, which features a complete technology upgrade and leads the field with its combination of sensitivity, dynamic range, speed, and precise quantification.

Despite this, mass spectrometry and PEA represent two distinct proteomics implementation approaches. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s acquisition aims to make the two complementary and promote their coordinated development. Based on this, after the completion of the acquisition, Thermo Fisher plans to integrate Olink into its Life Sciences Solutions segment to achieve the integration of technology and resources.

Building on the existing mass spectrometry platform, the introduction of the PEA technology platform, which represents a different approach, will enable strong complementarity, mutual learning, and robust competition by leveraging their respective strengths. This will benefit the development of proteomics and accelerate innovative discoveries and scientific breakthroughs.

For Olink, leveraging Thermo Fisher Scientific's global influence can significantly expand Olink's business and drive penetration into various fields worldwide, which is a definitive benefit for continued revenue growth.

Thermo Fisher Scientific expects to achieve approximately $125 million in adjusted operating income by the fifth year after the completion of the acquisition, driven by revenue and cost synergies. The anticipated robust long-term business growth and synergy realization make the financial returns of this transaction highly attractive.

Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Acquisition of Olink: A Strategic ExpansionThermo Fisher Scientific’s acquisition of Olink represents a strategic expansion, further solidifying its global leadership in proteomics and analytical instruments through strategic acquisitions. This move will drive continuous business growth and innovation. At the same time, it underscores the increasing importance of proteomics technology in future scientific research, bringing new opportunities to scientific research and healthcare fields.