Cepheid raises $300 million in note deal

Diagnostics company Cepheid Inc. (NASDAQ:CPHD) raised $300 million through the sale of notes in a bumped-up private placement to institutional investors. The 1.25% senior convertible notes due 2021 initially convert at $65.10, which is a 31% premium to Cepheid's close of $49.88 on Monday, before the company proposed to raise $250 million in the offering. Cepheid markets a range of molecular diagnostic tests that run on its GeneXpert System, which has CE Mark approval. Last year, the company launched its Xpert MTB/RIF assay to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection and resistance to rifampin in the U.S. ...