Jazz Pharma to acquire Celator in $1.5 billion cash deal

Ireland-incorporated Jazz Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: JAZZ) today revealed a definitive agreement to acquire Celator Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: CPXX) for $30.25 per share in cash, or around $1.5 billion in total.

News of the deal, announced before markets opened, saw Celator’s shares rocket 71% to $29.96 by mid-morning in New York.

The deal comes at more than double Celator's current market capitalization of $740 million. It is the second M&A announcement this year by Jazz, which just recently closed the acquisition of France-based Alizé Pharma in a $20.5 million transaction. Also, in 2013, Jazz acquired Italian company Gentium, which develops treatments for rare diseases, in a deal valued at about $1 billion.