Siemens extends Dade Behring tender offer

Siemens has announced an extension to the expiration date for its tender offer for Dade Behring, with the period extended to the end of October while the firm awaits clearance of this merger control from the European Commission.

The initial investigation period of the commission ends on October 25th 2007, with the company expecting to receive clearance from all regulatory bodies in time for the transaction to be closed before the end of the year.

Siemens reports that at midnight local time on September 26th 2007 in New York City, a total of 66,159,433 shares in Dade Behring had been tendered and not withdrawn, equal to 82.55 per cent of the outstanding common stock in the company.

Joe Kaeser, chief financial officer of Siemens, said: “We have made an attractive offer and do expect a smooth completion of the transaction after we have received full clearance from the antitrust authorities.”

The 2006 revenue of Dade Behring exceeded $1.7 billion, while the transaction to purchase the clinical laboratory diagnostics company has been valued at approximately $7 billion (3.45 billion pounds).

Siemens Medical Solutions announced the signing of a merger agreement with Dade Behring in July 2007, tendering an offer of $77 for each common share in the firm.