AstraZeneca to buy Omthera in up to $443 million deal

Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca’s (LSE: AZN) new chief executive Pascal Soriot is making another “strategic” acquisition, this morning (May 28) revealing that the company has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Omthera Pharmaceuticals, a specialty drug company based in Princeton, New Jersey, focused on the development and commercialization of new therapies for abnormal levels of lipids in the blood, or dyslipidemia. The deal has been approved by the boards of both companies.

Under the terms of the deal, AstraZeneca will acquire Omthera for $12.70 per share, or around $323 million, which has an enterprise value of about $260 million after incorporating Omthera’s cash balances of some $63 million. This represents a premium of 88% on Omthera’s closing price on May 24 (the last trading day prior to the announcement. In addition to the cash payment, each Omthera shareholder will receive contingent value rights (CVRs) of up to around $4.70 per share, equating to approximately $120 million in total, if specified milestones related to its lead product Epanova are achieved, or if a milestone related to global net sales is achieved. This will bring the total potential acquisition cost to about $443 million.

Deal will bring in novel triglyceride treatment