Zoetis Inc. will acquire veterinary company Abaxis Inc. for about $2 billion, or $83 per share in cash.
Union City, Calif.-based Abaxis is a provider of diagnostic instruments and consumable discs, kits and cartridges to the animal health industry. The company reported revenues of $244.7 million for its fiscal year ended March 31, up 8% from a year earlier, said Zoetis.
Zoetis, a Parsippany, N.J.-based animal health company, will fund the transaction with cash on hand and new debt. The deal is subject to closing conditions, including regulatory and Abaxis shareholder approvals, and is expected to close before the end of 2018.
Zoetis expects the transaction to be accretive to earnings in 2019.
Guggenheim Securities and Barclays are acting as financial advisers to Zoetis. Piper Jaffray serves as Abaxis' exclusive financial adviser.