Opko Health Acquires Bio-Reference Laboratories In All-Stock Transaction

Shares of Bio-Reference Laboratories Inc BRLI are skyrocketing in Thursday’s pre-market session, up more than 41 percent. The catalyst for the rally is due to a signing of a definitive merger agreement with Opko Health Inc. OPK in which Opko acquires Bio-Reference Laboratories.

Bio-Reference is the nation’s third-largest full service clinical laboratory.

Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders of Bio-Reference Laboratories’ common stock will receive 2.75 shares of Opko’s common stock per one share of Bio-Reference common stock. The total price of the transaction was $1.47 billion ($52.58 per share of Bio-Reference common stock). The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2015.

Opko is planning on leveraging the national marketing, distribution resources, and sales of Bio-Reference Laboratories in order to boost sales of its 4kscore test.

Opko has been spiking in the past six months, up nearly 130 percent in that time and 91 percent year-to-date. Shares were down 5 percent in Thursday's premarket.

Shares of Bio-Reference traded at $32.96, up 41.9 percent.