Danaher has purchased British biotech firm Abcam for $5.7bn (£4.5bn).

The US medical tech giant has acquired the Cambridge-based firm for $24 per share, which is said to be around 40% above where Abcam stocks were trading in the middle of May.

Abcam produces, distributes and sells protein research tools and is sometimes called the ‘Amazon of antibodies’ as it provides scientists with a variety of laboratory products including the immune proteins used in drug discovery and diagnostics.

Bloomberg reported last week that Danaher was the leading bidder out of a range of other companies, which included Agilent Technologies for the purchase, which Abcam engaging with more than 20 potential acquirers before entering into an agreement with the US firm.

Abcam, which is listed in the US, delisted from London’s Investment Market in December 2022, with the board arguing that at the time, doing so would “remove certain complexities” that come with administering two listing regimes, stating that a Nasdaq-only listing structure would attract the appropriate investor base “maximising the company’s ability to access deeper pools of capital.”

Chief executive officer (CEO) at Abcam, Alan Hirzel said: “Our strategy has transformed Abcam to become a scale innovator and important catalyst in the global life science community. Danaher shares our passion to help life science researchers achieve their mission faster and their operating company model allows us to continue to pursue our strategy, while harnessing the power of the Danaher Business System to ensure we remain the partner of choice for our customers.”

President CEO at Danaher, Rainer Blair, added: “We couldn’t be more excited to have Abcam join Danaher. Abcam’s long track record of innovation, outstanding product quality and breadth of antibody portfolio positions them as a key partner for the scientific community. We look forward to welcoming Abcam’s innovative and talented team to Danaher as we continue to help our customers solve some of the world’s biggest healthcare challenges.”

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