Merck & Co bets $2.7 billion on BTK inhibitor

9 December 2019

Shares of US biotech firm ArQule (Nasdaq: ARQL) spiked 102% to $19.60 in Monday pre-market trading, after it was revealed that it has received a takeover offer from US pharma giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK).

Under the terms of a definitive agreement, Merck, through a subsidiary, will acquire ArQule for $20 per share in cash for an approximate total equity value of $2.7 billion. The transaction is expected to close early in the first quarter of 2020.

ArQule closed at $9.66 per share Friday, up 249% year-to-date, and was up 103.5% at $19.66 by mid-morning. Merck traded as much as 0.7% higher on the news pre-marker but was down 0.44% at $88.46 mid-morning.

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