If we get it right?26 Jan 2017 09:44
J&J Seals $30 Billion Actelion Deal to Enter Rare Disease Arena
Actelion shareholders to get $280/share in cash in deal
Drugmakers expect deal to be completed in second quarter
Johnson & Johnson agreed to buy Actelion Ltd. for $30 billion and spin off the Swiss drugmaker’s research and development operations, clinching its largest deal ever to become a leader in medicines treating a rare type of high blood pressure.
J&J, already the world’s biggest maker of health-care products, is fulfilling its goal of adding a new drug category with the transaction and dealing a blow to France’s Sanofi, which had also sought to acquire Actelion. The deal is expensive compared to recent industry takeovers such as Pfizer Inc.’s acquisition of Medivation Inc. and AbbVie Inc.’s purchase of Pharmacyclics Inc., according to an analysis from Bloomberg Intelligence.
J&J will begin a tender offer to buy shares of Allschwil, Switzerland-based Actelion for $280 each in cash, the companies said in a statement. The price, which equals 280.08 Swiss francs, is 23 percent above Wednesday’s closing level. The R&D operations will be spun off to Actelion shareholders as a new publicly traded company, with J&J keeping a 16 percent stake