Maxygen to buy Denmark's Profound

Maxygen of the USA has announced that it is set to acquire the Danishbiotechnology firm ProFound Pharma A/S, in a stock deal valued at over $60 million in stock, based on current share prices. Under the terms of the agreement, Maxygen will issue 980,000 shares of its common stock and additional stock (subject to put and call options) worth an extra $10 million. The deal is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of this year.

Maxygen said the acquisition complements its own technologies, preclinical development capabilities and product pipeline. ProFound specializes in developing improved second-generation protein pharmaceutical products, and its capabilities include high-throughput screening, computer modeling and protein chemistry.

The US company anticipates that a portion of the purchase price will be allocated to in-process R&D and will result in an unspecified one-time charge against net earnings. The acquisition has been approved by each company's board, and is subject to a positive ruling from the Danish tax authorities.