Origin Technologies Raises Offer Price For Affymetrix To $17/shr

(RTTNews) - Origin Technologies Corp., LLC, a newly created entity owned by a group of former Affymetrix executives for the purpose of privatizing Affymetrix, Inc. (AFFX), increased its all-cash offer to buy Affymetrix to $17 per share.

This increased offer represents an 84.6% premium to Affymetrix' unaffected closing share price of $9.21 on the last trading day prior to the announcement of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.'s (TMO) proposed acquisition of Affymetrix, and offers Affymetrix stockholders a 21.4% premium relative to Affymetrix' proposed transaction with Thermo, under which Affymetrix stockholders would receive only $14.00 per share in cash.

Origin has also agreed to increase the size of its reverse termination fee to $100 million from $75 million. Origin further reiterated its intention to include a "hell or high water" provision to onsummate acquisition.

Affymetrix Inc. said Sunday that it rejected a $16.10 per share acquisition bid from Origin Technologies Corp., and instead continues to recommend its previously planned merger with Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.