Fujifilm announced that it will acquire Cellular Dynamics International (CDI) for $307 million via an all-cash tender offer to be followed by a second step merger. Under the terms of the agreement, the tender offer will begin no later than April 6, 2015 and is expected to close during the second quarter of 2015.

Fujifilm aims to buy all issued and outstanding shares of CDI's common stock for $16.50 per share. The offer represents a premium of 108% to CDI's closing price on March 27. CDI will continue to run its operations in Madison, Wisconsin and Novato, California as a consolidated subsidiary of Fujifilm. Fujifilm will finance the transaction from the cash on its balance sheet, the firm said in a statement.

CDI was founded in 2004 and develops and manufactures human cell lines on an industrial scale, including human induced pluripotent stem cells used in research and drug discovery. In 2014 the firm had total revenues of $16.7 million.

Fujifilm has transitioned into other markets besides traditional photographic film, including areas of healthcare such as preventative medicine, diagnostics, and treatment. Currently, the firm offers recombinant peptides that can be used as cellular scaffolding in conjunction with CDI's products, and it owns Japan Tissue Engineering, which markets regenerative medicine products in Japan.