Exact Sciences rebuffs Sequenom's $41 million buyout offer

Exact Sciences Corporation, a company that applies genomics to develop technologies that help in the detection of common cancers, has said that its board has rejected Sequenom Inc's (SQNM.O) offer to buy the company for $1.50 per share in stock.

Sequenom provides genetic analysis products that according to the company, help translate the results of genomic science into solutions for non-invasive prenatal diagnostics, biomedical research, translational research and molecular medicine applications.

On 9 January, Sequenom had announced its proposal to the board of directors of Exact Sciences Corporation to acquire all of the latter's outstanding shares of common stock in an all-stock transaction that valued the target at approximately $41 million, exchanging it at a rate of $1.50 in Sequenom common stock.

In its rebuttal to the proposal, Exact Sciences said that it was "actively pursuing a strategic alternative that the board believes can provide greater value to EXACT and its shareholders than the Sequenom proposal."

This proposed transaction, Sequenom  said, represented a 69-per cent premium to the closing price of Exact Sciences' common stock of $0.89 on 8 January, 2009, and a 154 per cent premium to its 30-day volume-weighted average closing price of $0.59.

Sequenom said that the proposed acquisition of Exact Sciences, which was "a pioneer in non-invasive stool-based DNA screening technologies for colorectal cancer", would provide it with an expanded non-invasive diagnostics offering in oncology, and position Sequenom with one of the most comprehensive non-invasive cancer diagnostic portfolios.

Shares of Exact Sciences closed higher by about 52 per cent at $1.50 on Monday, while those of Sequenom closed down by three per cent at $22.29 on Nasdaq.