Abbott Acquires Exact Sciences for $21Billion

In what is most likely to be the largest healthcare deal of the year, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) agreed to acquire Exact Sciences Corp. (EXAS) in a deal with a total equity value of $21 billion. Abbott will pay $105 per common share in cash, representing a 51% premium to EXAS' closing price on November 18th.

Exact (EXAS) is a cancer diagnostics company and brings to Abbott a portfolio of cancer detection adn treatment guidance products, including the market-leading Cologuard colorectal cancer screening test, Octype DX for breast cancer treatment decisions, and cutting-edge liquid biopsy tests like Cancerguard for multi-cancer early detection and Oncodetect for molecular residual disease monitoring.

The company is projected to generate more than $3 billion in revenue in 2025 with a high-teens organic sales growth rate.

Following the acquisition, Exact will become a subsidiary of Abbott.

The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.