Abbott To Acquire Exact Sciences For Up To $23B

• The transaction, unanimously approved by both companies' boards of directors, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026.
• Once the deal is completed, Exact will operate as a unit of Abbott, and the latter’s total diagnostics sales will exceed $12 billion annually.
• At the closing of the deal, Exact Sciences CEO Kevin Conroy will remain with the company in an advisory role.

Abbott (ABT) on Thursday said it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Exact Sciences (EXAS) for up to $23 billion, as it seeks to expand into the cancer diagnostics segment.

Under the deal, Exact Sciences shareholders will receive $105 per common share in cash. This represents an upside of about 22% from the stock’s closing price on Wednesday.

The transaction, unanimously approved by both companies' boards of directors, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, subject to the receipt of necessary approvals.

Upsides For Abbott

Exact Sciences focuses on early cancer detection and on supporting personalized treatments. Its products include the Cologuard test, a noninvasive colorectal cancer screening option, and Cancerguard, a multi-cancer early detection blood test.

Exact is expected to generate more than $3 billion in revenue this year, with a high-teens organic sales growth rate. Once the deal is completed, Exact will operate as a unit of Abbott, and the latter’s total diagnostics sales will exceed $12 billion annually, the companies said.

At the closing of the deal, Exact Sciences CEO Kevin Conroy will remain with the company in an advisory role to support the transition, they added.

Shares of Abbott traded 0.6% lower on Thursday morning at the time of writing while EXAS stock rose 18%.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around EXAS jumped from ‘extremely bearish’ to ‘extremely bullish’ territory while message volume rose from ‘low’ to ‘extremely high’ levels.

EXAS stock is up by 81% this year and by about 93% over the past 12 months.

Also See: PACS Group Stock Soars Premarket On Completion Of Audit Committee Probe, Upbeat Full-Year Guidance

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