By Imani Moise

Lab-equipment company Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. said Monday it would buy drug-development technology company Patheon NV in a deal worth about $5.2 billion.

Patheon shareholders will receive $35 in cash per share, representing a 35% premium from Friday's closing price of $26. Thermo Fisher will also assume about $2 billion of net debt.

Thermo Fisher said the deal gives it a way into the high-growth end-to-end biotech solutions market and that Patheon will help reduce the time and cost of delivering medicines to market for its customers.

Patheon is a so-called contract development manufacturing organization, helping biopharmaceutical firms take on complex development and manufacturing needs.

The deal, expected to close by the end of the year, still requires regulatory and shareholder approval, though Thermo Fisher said it has already secured agreements with affiliates of JLL Partners and Royal DSM to support the deal. They hold a combined 73% stake in Patheon, Thermo said.

Thermo Fisher has relied largely on acquisitions for growth, spending $5.5 billion on deals during the 2016 fiscal year. The company expects the latest transaction to contribute 30 cents a share to its bottom line in the first full year after closing.

Patheon stock shot up 34% during premarket trading, approaching the deal price and offsetting a 17% decline over the past three months through Friday's close. Thermo Fisher's stock, which had already gained 22% so far this year, was inactive.

Write to Imani Moise at imani.moise@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 15, 2017 08:29 ET (12:29 GMT)

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