Amgen inks deal to acquire Horizon Therapeutics

12 December 2022

Coming as no surprise following rumors for the last couple of weeks, but with a much bigger price tag than had been expected, US biotech giant Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) today announced that it is to acquire Horizon Therapeutics (Nasdaq: HZNP), with the boards of directors of both companies having agreed terms of a cash offer of $116.50 per share, or around $28 billion.

The news - which marks the biggest pharma/biotech M&A transaction announced so far this year, sent Ireland-headquartered Horizon’s shares up nearly 15% to $111.74 in pre-market activity. Just yesterday, France’s Sanofi – which had also confirmed it has had discussions with Horizon – said that it was walking away from a deal, citing excessive price expectations. Earlier suggestions on the cost of an acquisition were in the $20 billion range.

The acquisition represents:

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