Hologic to be acquired by private equity
Hologic, Inc., announced on 21 October 2025 that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by funds managed by Blackstone and TPG in a transaction valued at up to US$79 per share, representing an enterprise value of up to US$18.3 billion.
Under the terms of the agreement, Blackstone and TPG will acquire all outstanding Hologic shares for US$76 per share in cash plus a non-tradable contingent value right (CVR) to receive up to US$3 per share in two payments of up to US$1.50 each, for total consideration of up to US$79 per share in cash.
The non-tradable CVR would be issued to Hologic stockholders at closing and paid, in whole or in part, following achievement of certain global revenue goals for Hologic’s Breast Health business in fiscal years 2026 and 2027.
Company Profiles:
Hologic Inc., founded in 1985, is focused on women’s health dedicated to developing innovative medical technologies that effectively detect, diagnose and treat health conditions and raise the standard of care around the world.
Source: hologic.com
Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative asset manager. Blackstone seeks to deliver compelling returns for institutional and individual investors by strengthening the companies in which the firm invests. Blackstone’s US$1.2 trillion in assets under management include global investment strategies focused on real estate, private equity, credit, infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, secondaries and hedge funds.
Source: blackstone.com
TPG is a leading global alternative asset management firm, founded in San Francisco in 1992, with $261 billion of assets under management and investment and operational teams around the world. TPG invests across a broadly diversified set of strategies, including private equity, impact, credit, real estate, and market solutions, and our unique strategy is driven by collaboration, innovation, and inclusion. Our teams combine deep product and sector experience with broad capabilities and expertise to develop differentiated insights and add value for our fund investors, portfolio companies, management teams, and communities.
Source: tpg.com
This article examines Hologic’s patent portfolio to understand more deeply what Blackstone and TPG are acquiring.
Hologic’s patent portfolio is built around medical devices, diagnostic products, and technologies for women’s health
Since 2009, Hologic has published 2,006 patent applications and received 1,058 granted patents across 397 patent families.
The number of patent applications published per year varied between 100 and 120 during the period 2009 to 2019. Patent applications grew rapidly from 2020, reaching a peak of about 180 in 2021. Since then, the number of patent applications has steadily declined year-on-year.
In contrast, granted patents appear to have continued to grow steadily, and peaking in 2024.
Hologic's patent portfolio mainly US focused, but has filed in 21 countries
Hologic has filed patent applications in 21 countries. The top nine countries account for 1,913 filings - around 95% of the total. The remaining 12 countries account for the other 93 patent applications.
Patent applications have declined steeply since 2018
Patent applications have declined steeply since 2018, when more than 200 patent applications were filed. It is not clear what has caused this decline.
To date, Hologic has received 1,058 granted patents, about 53% of the patent applications. The majority of Hologic's granted patents - about 70% - were filed prior to 2016. Only 11 of the published granted patents - just 1% - have been filed within the past five years.
Hologic's patent families
Hologic's patent portfolio has 397 patent families, each with one or more member. Hologic was founded in 1985, focused on developing advanced x-ray technologies for osteoporosis detection. Our analysis starts in 2009, so patent families published before 2009 do not appear in this analysis.
- The earliest patent family found by this analysis is "X-Ray Bone Densitometry", with a priority date in 1994.
- The largest patent family has 54 members, and a priority date in 2017. The most frequently used title across this patent family is "Systems and methods for automated preparation of biological specimens".
Among the largest patent families filed within the past five years are "Tomosynthesis gain calibration and image correction", which has 14 members and a priority date in 2017, and "System and method for correlating object of interest", which has 10 members, and a priority date in 2021.
Expanding their patent portfolio through acquisitions
In 2024, Hologic acquired Endomagnetics and Gynesonics, each will have expanded the company's patent portfolio.
Endomagnetics
Endomagnetics has a patent portfolio of 246 patent applications, and 110 granted patents across 40 patent families. Both patent applications and granted patents show growth in recent years.
Gynesonics
Gynesonics has a patent portfolio of 185 patent applications, and 82 granted patents across 25 patent families. The majority of granted patents were filed prior to 2011.
Interesting to note there are only a few patents applications filed within the past five years. There are no granted patents filed within the past fives.
Cytyc
A number of patents with early priority dates list Cytyc Corp., as assignee. These patents were acquired when Hologic and Cytyc merged in 2007.
The acquisition of Hologic could see its patent portfolio grow - or be streamlined
Hologic’s portfolio is a strong pool of IP around technologies for women’s health. The question is whether this will be built upon, or whether the new owners will choose to narrow its focus.