Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. agreed to acquire Affymetrix Inc. in a deal valued at about $1.3 billion, adding technology used by scientists and biologists to analyze specimens at the cellular and genetic level.

Thermo Fisher will pay $14 a share in cash, according to a statement. That represents a premium of about 52 percent to Affymetrix’s closing price Friday. The transaction, expected to be completed by the end of June, will add 10 cents a share to earnings in the first full year, the company said.

Adding Affymetrix’s products will help Thermo Fisher expand its array of laboratory equipment, which also includes diagnostic tools for hospitals and mass spectrometers for chemists. Thermo Fisher also expects to cut annual overlapping costs by about $70 million by the third year after the transaction closes.

Themro Fisher has been bulking up in diagnostic equipment. In February 2014, it paid $15.4 billion for Life Technologies Corp., a maker of DNA analysis technologies — its largest deal ever.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. advised Thermo Fisher on the deal, with Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz as legal counsel. Morgan Stanley was Affymetrix’s financial adviser, and Davis, Polk & Wardwell LLP provided legal advice.

Source: Bloomberg