Hologic wraps up $3.8B Gen-Probe buy

The deal is done. Hologic ($HOLX) is now the new owner of molecular diagnostics rising star Gen-Probe ($GPRO), after closing the $3.8 billion deal Wednesday.

Moving ahead, Bedford, MA-based Hologic now predicts accelerated growth and presence in the molecular diagnostics space, with a particular focus on tests concerning sexually transmitted diseases. Gen-Probe brings plenty of new tests for STDs, like chlamydia, gonorrhea, and human papillomavirus, to the table. The acquisition is also expected to lead to about $75 million in "cost synergies" within three years.

On Wednesday, the same day that the deal closed, Hologic notified Wisconsin state officials that it would close a factory in Madison by fall 2014, according to WTAQ, slashing 130 jobs.

The Hologic/Gen-Probe transaction also appears to be one of the friendlier M&A deals in recent months. Gen-Probe's chairman and CEO Carl Hull isn't going anywhere, for example. He plans to stay for at least 15 months as a senior vice president and general manager of the combined companies' diagnostics business. And Hologic was pushing before the deal-closing to retain a number of other Gen-Probe managers.

Hologic said its net income fell to $23.6 million during the third quarter, compared to $36.2 million in the fiscal 2011 third quarter, despite a healthy hump in revenue from digital mammography and diagnostics services and products. Even without the Gen-Probe deal factored in, however, Hologic predicts its Q4 revenues will expand.

- read the announcement
- check out the WTAQ story