Personalis Deal Suddenly Worth Billions More After Cancer Therapy Breakthrough
Tempus AI's acquisition of Personalis has caught the attention of investors after being announced in July. The deal, worth $1.5 billion, would have flown under the radar if not for its significance to a revolutionary personalized cancer therapy announced by Merck and Moderna earlier this week. This technology is crucial to building these therapies, making Personalis' tech much more valuable. As a result, shares of both Tempus and Personalis skyrocketed, with Personalis' up 22% since Tuesday.
Investors are now speculating that the deal will be renegotiated due to this newfound value. However, observers say there's little Personalis or its majority shareholder Merck can do to change the terms. Merck declined to comment on the matter.
The acquisition team would have been wise to pick up Personalis given the treatments' impact on both companies' market capitalizations. The news added tens of billions of dollars to their values, giving them a more potent currency for future deals.