Quidel Corporation (NASDAQ: QDEL) (Quidel) and Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Holdings plc (NASDAQ: OCDX) (Ortho) have announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement in which Quidel will acquire Ortho, one of the world’s largest in vitro diagnostics companies, for US$24.68 per share of common stock using a combination of cash and newly issued shares in the combined company, representing a 25% premium over Ortho’s closing price on December 22, 2021 and an equity value of approximately US$6.0 billion. The transaction is expected to close during the first half of fiscal year 2022, subject to customary closing conditions. Latham & Watkins LLP represents Ortho in the transaction with a corporate deal team led by Washington, D.C. partner David Brown and associate Mariclaire Petty, together with Chicago partner Bradley Faris and London partner Richard Butterwick, with Washington, D.C. associates Jill Rubinger and Madeline Merkle, Chicago associate Michael Magstadt, and London associate Harry Redford. Advice was also provided on tax matters by New York partner David Raab, London partner Sean Finn, and New York partner Matthew Dewitz, with associate Shruti Hazra; on benefits and compensation matters by Washington, D.C. partner Adam Kestenbaum, with associate Kirk Porter; on antitrust and foreign direct investment (FDI) matters by Washington, D.C. partner Jason Cruise, Brussels partner Luca Crocco, and Hamburg counsel Jana de Chapto Dammann, with associates Alexandra Clark and Nicolas Jung; on capital markets matters by Washington, D.C. partners Patrick Shannon and Jason Licht and Washington, D.C. counsel Christopher Cronin; on finance matters by Washington, D.C. partners Jeffrey Chenard, Scott Forchheimer, and Benjamin Berman; on environmental matters by Washington, D.C. partner James Barrett, with associate Phil Sandick; on real estate matters by New York partner Dara Denberg and New York counsel Shira Bressler, with associate Thomas Ficchi; on healthcare regulatory matters by Washington, D.C. partners Elizabeth Richards and Eric Greig and Bay Area counsel Betty Pang, with associates Nathan Beaton, Brian Goodell, Lee Staley, and Leia Gu; on anti-corruption matters by Washington, D.C. partner Brian Kowalski, with associate Faiza Hasan; on CFIUS and export controls and sanctions matters by Washington, D.C. partner Les Carnegie, with associate Julie Choi Shin; and on data privacy matters by London partner Gail Crawford and Bay Area counsel Heather Deixler, with associates Jane Bentham and Kate Burrell.~~