Ventana gives Roche access to its non-public financial information

TUCSON, Ariz. Ventana and Roche have signed a confidentiality agreement that gives Roche access to Ventana’s non-public information and allows it to begin the due diligence process, in which all of Ventana’s financial information can be reviewed in detail.

For months, Roche has been making offers to acquire Ventana, in hopes of expanding its oncology division with Ventana products so that it will have a leg up on its competition. Ventana has repeatedly rebuffed Roche’s offer of $75 per share, considering it at best woefully insufficient, especially since shares of Ventana for months have been worth over $80.

Ventana went on to say that the offer was “grossly inadequate and not an appropriate starting point for negotiations,” but hopes that access to its books will enable Roche to “better understand the company’s business prospects and the inherent value in companion diagnostics.”