Tekmira to merge with OnCore, to create major hep B company

Shares of Tekmira Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: TKMR) leapt as much as 50%, after it announced a merger with privately-held US biotech firm OnCore Biopharma, to create a new, major global hepatitis B virus (HBV) company.

Tekmira, a leading developer of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, will acquire OnCore, a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing an all-oral cure for patients suffering from chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, in an all stock deal, whereby the latter will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tekmira.

Transaction details

On closing of the transaction, OnCore shareholders will hold around 50% of the total number of outstanding shares of capital stock of Tekmira, calculated on a fully-diluted and as-converted basis using the treasury stock method. The implied market value of the combined company, based on the closing price of Tekmira common shares on the Nasdaq Global Market on January 9, 2015, is about $750 million.