The Wall Street Journal reports that Hologic Inc, Bedford, Mass, has agreed to acquire Gen-Probe Inc, San Diego, for about $3.7 billion in cash, as the health-products company seeks to broaden its diagnostics business.

Gen-Probe had put itself up for auction last year and Novartis AG, which already had a partnership with the company, had been seen as the most likely buyer before it pulled out of the race last July, according to the article.

Hologic expects to realize around $75 million in cost synergies from the deal, which is expected to close in the second half of the calendar year, it says.

Gen-Probe’s diagnostic products include tests for STDs, including a line for chlamydia and gonorrhea, HPV, and trichomonas.

The deal follows on the heels of other recent acquisitions in the lab market. Last year Thermo Fisher purchased Phadia AB for $3.5 billion. and Danaher Corp purchased Beckman Coulter Inc for $5.8 billion, the article notes.

Medical-test manufacturers have recently garnered interest of bigger health care companies in need of new opportunities for growth, the article reports.

Click here to read the entire article the The Wall Street Journal.

[Source: The Wall Street Journal]