Calliditas rockets on news of takeover offer from Asahi Kasei

Shares of Swedish biotech Calliditas Therapeutics (Nasdaq Stockholm: CALT) shot up more than 78% to 202.60 kronor by late afternoon, on news of a takeover bid from Asahi Kasei (TYO: 3407) as part of the Japanese company’s plan to become a global drug company.

Asahi Kasei has offered to acquire all of the ordinary shares of Calliditas for 208 kronor per share and 416 kronor for each American depositary share, a premium of 83% on the company's closing price on Monday. This represents a total equity value of around 11.8 billion kronor ($1.12 billion).

The tender offer has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies. The closing of the acquisition is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including antitrust and foreign direct investment clearances.