Roche agrees to Ventana merger

agreement with Ventana Medical Systems.

Approved by both boards, the acquisition of Ventana by Roche was confirmed following an offer of $89.50 (45.70 pounds) per share and an aggregate of around $3.4 billion.

Franz B Humer, chairman and chief executive officer of Roche, said the combined company will enable Ventana’s business across the globe and develop various targeted and cost-efficient medicines.

“We are delighted to welcome the employees and management team of Ventana and look forward to jointly developing novel solutions for our customers,” he added.

Ventana is focused on the tissue-based diagnostics sector and it is hoped that its offerings will help to broaden Roche’s expertise in this area in addition to its in-vitro and oncology therapies projects.

Roche currently employs some 75,000 people and its products are sold in more than 150 countries.