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Investing.com -- Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) stock soared 17% Thursday, building on Wednesday’s 24% surge after Abbott (NYSE:ABT) announced plans to acquire the cancer diagnostics company in a deal valued at approximately $21 billion.
The Madison, Wisconsin-based company’s shares traded at $101 in pre-market trading, following yesterday’s close of $86.18, which had already jumped 23.68% amid Bloomberg-reported acquisition rumors that have now been confirmed.
Under the agreement terms, Exact Sciences shareholders will receive $105 per share in cash, representing a premium that appears to have exceeded market expectations. The acquisition values Exact Sciences at an enterprise value of approximately $23 billion, including the company’s estimated $1.8 billion in net debt.
The deal will position Abbott to enter the fast-growing $60 billion U.S. cancer screening and precision oncology diagnostics market. Exact Sciences, projected to generate over $3 billion in revenue this year with high teens organic sales growth, brings its market-leading Cologuard colorectal cancer screening test and Oncotype DX precision oncology test to Abbott’s portfolio.
Abbott expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to its revenue growth and gross margin. Following the completion of the transaction, expected in the second quarter of 2026, Exact Sciences will become a subsidiary of Abbott, pushing Abbott’s total diagnostics sales beyond $12 billion annually.
The transaction, unanimously approved by both companies’ boards of directors, remains subject to Exact Sciences shareholder approval and regulatory clearances.