MERGERS & ACQUISITIONSMerger planned between Bio-Rad and QiagenCalifornia-based diagnostics company Bio-Rad Laboratories is in talks to merge with Dutch company Qiagen NV, the Wall Street Journal reported. US-listed shares of Qiagen rose 8%, while Bio-Rad fell nearly 10%, after the report.According to the report, a deal between the two companies could be worth more than $10bn, making it one of the biggest deals in the healthcare testing area after Illumina Inc took over cancer-testing firm Grail for $8bn.Bio-Rad, which manufactures and supplies products such as laboratory equipment, instruments and diagnostics, has a market cap of $12.85bn.Qiagen provides over 500,000 customers with tech that provides molecular diagnostics of DNA, RNA, blood proteins and other materials.However, a decision is not expected for weeks, with talks being put on hold.Back in 2020, Thermo Fisher offered €11.3bn to buy Qiagen, but plans fell through due to Qiagen shareholders rejecting the offer following a hedge fund’s campaign. Thermo Fisher then went on to acquire PPD for $17.4bn.Other notable pharma acquisitions this year include Stryker’s $3bn purchase of Vocera Communications, ResMed’s $1bn (approx) buyout of MediFox Dan, and Becton Dickinson’s $1.53bn purchase of Parata Systems.