The biggest deal of the year in the medical industry was announced by Siemens Healthineers with the acquisition of the US Varian Medical Systems for about 16.4 billion dollars in cash.

The German medical technology company offered $ 177.5 per share for the American company based in Palo Alto, California, an offer that is 24% higher than the closing price of its share on Friday. As Siemens Healthineers announced today, the acquisition will be financed through a loan and a capital increase.

The deal will give Healthineers a significant market share in the fast-growing field of cancer treatment, where it currently has a small presence. Siemens Healthineers estimated that the market will have a positive impact on earnings per share within the first 12 months of its implementation.

The two companies have been working together for more than ten years in areas such as radiodiagnosis to treat cancer.

Shares of Varian have changed slightly this year, compared to the 3.4% rise in the S&P 500 health index, which is valued at $ 13 billion.

Healthineers will finance the acquisition through a bridge loan of 15.2 billion euros from the parent company of Siemens AG, as well as from the capital increase within the year in which the parent company will not participate.

As a result, Siemens’ stake in Healthineers will be reduced to about 72% from 85%, Siemens said in a statement. The planned dilution of Siemens percentages could pave the way for Healthineers to enter the German DAX index.

Healthineers chief financial officer Jorgen Schmidt said in an interview that the stock would be considered next year. “It’s not a short-term issue, but something we can see next year,” Smith said.

Healthineers, which spun off from Siemens in 2018, has risen 2.7% this year, raising its market capitalization to 43.6 billion euros. Its revenue in the third quarter was 3.31 billion euros, while profits before interest and taxes reached 461 million euros, according to its announcement. The company estimates that the annual earnings per share will increase between 1.54 euros and 1.62 euros.

CEO Berd Montag had said at the end of 2019 that the company’s next acquisition would be “something close.”