...- Life sciences company Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. announced it is acquiring Netherlands-based life science and molecular diagnostic testing company Qiagen N.V. for roughly $11.5 billion. - The transaction will be funded with a combination of cash on hand and debt, and is expected to close in the first half of 2021. Net adjusted leverage will rise to roughly 3.7x in 2020 pro forma for the transaction from the current 2.6x, though we project it to decline to the low-3x area by end of 2021 based on increased EBITDA and aggressive debt repayment. - We are affirming the '###+' issuer credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on Thermo Fisher, as well as our 'A-2' short-term and commercial paper rating. The outlook is stable. - Thermo Fisher has a history of conducting large debt-financed acquisitions to expand its diverse life science offerings, realizing cost and revenue synergies, and quickly deleveraging to the 3x-3.5x range. We believe Qiagen, which generates $1.5 billion in annual sales,...
