Variagenics/Hyseq proceeds, rival bid rejected:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The shareholders of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based molecular diagnostics firm Variagenics and of Sunnyvale, California biopharma company Hyseq Pharmaceuticals have approved plans to merge. The deal is expected to close on January 31. The new group will be renamed Nuvelo and will begin trading on Nasdaq on February 3. A few days before the approval, Variagenics' board of directors urged shareholders to reject a rival bid from Acacia Research, a technology investment group that wanted to integrate Variagenics into its CombiMatrix life science biochip subsidiary. Variagenics' board favoured the biotherapeutic/diagnostic business model over a research tool focus.