Boehringer Ingelheim, a major shareholder in Hikma Pharmaceuticals, is exiting the London-listed drugmaker by selling most of its nearly one billion pound stake to institutional investors and the rest back to the company, Hikma said on Monday.
A bookrunner for the deal said Boehringer would sell 28 million shares, worth about 700 million pounds ($872.90 million), while Hikma said it would purchase the remaining shares for not more than 295 million pounds.
Germany-based private firm Boehringer currently holds 16.45%, or roughly 40 million, of Hikma’s share capital and voting rights, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, making it the drugmaker’s second-biggest shareholder after Darhold Ltd.
Based on Hikma’s closing price of 2,480 pence on Monday, Boehringer’s stake is valued at about 992 million pounds. Hikma’s overall market cap stands at 6.03 billion pounds.
The placing and buyback deals are interdependent and capped, the company said.
Hikma and Boehringer have agreed that the former would also receive a commitment fee worth 2% of the total value of the shares it will buyback.
Source: Reuters.com