Mallinckrodt to acquire CNS Thera for $100 million; Mediq to sell out for 775 million euros

Mallinckrodt, the soon to be spun-out pharmaceuticals business of Ireland-based Covidien (NYSE: COV), has signed a definitive agreement to acquire CNS Therapeutics, a privately held specialty pharmaceutical company for around $100 million.

The transaction, subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to be completed during the fourth calendar quarter of 2012. CNS currently has one marketed product and a diverse pipeline of pain and spasticity products in development. CNS is focused on developing and commercializing products for site-specific administration to the central nervous system to treat neurological disorders and intractable chronic pain,

Covidien announced last year that it plans to spin off its pharmaceuticals business - which generates around $2 billion in annual sales - into a stand-alone public company, a move that it said could take up to 18 month (December 16, 2011) and now expected to be completed in mid-2013. The decision came after several years of evaluating options which, according to observers, included talks to sell the drugs business for $3-$4 billion that failed to materialize.