Spotlight On... Despite higher offer from rival, Thermo Fisher remains confident in its $1.3B bid for Affymetrix; EarlySense nabs SouthEast Asia distributor; GE Healthcare adds two new execs; and more...

The fight over Affymetrix ($AFFX) is getting fiercer by the day. Original bidder Thermo Fisher Scientific ($TMO) remains confident that its $1.3 billion offer will prevail over a last-minute $1.5 billion bid from Origin Technologies, a new company consisting of former Affymetrix executives that was created solely for the purpose of acquiring the Santa Clara, CA genomic analysis company. In response to the counter-proposal, Thermo Fisher released a passive-aggressive statement: "We fully expect that the Affymetrix board of directors will promptly conclude that our transaction remains the only bona fide alternative for Affymetrix stockholders and, as contemplated by the terms of our merger agreement, will definitively recommend against the Origin Technologies proposal and in favor of the Thermo Fisher transaction prior to the upcoming stockholder meeting, and in any event, no later than April 1, 2016. In the event that we determine at any time that Affymetrix has made an adverse recommendation change or has not complied with the terms of our merger agreement, we will not hesitate to exercise our rights thereunder, including terminating the agreement and receiving the required termination fee." Under the $1.3B deal, Thermo Fisher will collect a $55M termination fee if Affymetrix opts for the higher bid. Affymetrix CEO Frank Witney has said he favors the Thermo Fisher offer. More | Previous coverage from FierceMedicalDevices

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