QGEN Qiagen NV

By Colin Kellaher

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. on Thursday said it agreed to raise its bid for Qiagen NV by about 10.3% to reflect the rising value of the Netherlands-based molecular-diagnostics company amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Thermo Fisher said it is now offering 43 euros ($49.07) for each share of Qiagen, up from 39 million euros, bringing the value of the deal to about $11.2 billion.

The Waltham, Mass., company in March announced an agreement to buy Qiagen for about $10.1 billion to bulk up in the field of infectious-disease testing. The new offer reflects a roughly 35% premium to Qiagen's closing price on March 2, the day before the deal was announced.

Thermo Fisher on Thursday said industry dynamics "have changed considerably" since then, as both companies work to help their customers battle the pandemic, and it said the increased bid reflects the fair value of Qiagen's business given the current environment.

Analysts had recently speculated that heightened demand for diagnostic tools amid the pandemic could prompt Thermo Fisher to increase its offer.

Frankfurt-listed shares of Qiagen were recently up 1%, to 41.38 euros.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 16, 2020 09:26 ET (13:26 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.