AstraZeneca Plc said it will buy Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a cash and share offer worth $39 billion, adding a specialist in the development of treatments for rare diseases and immunology.
The offer values Alexion at $175 a share, a 45% premium to the closing price on Friday.
Acquiring Alexion would bolster AstraZeneca in areas such as the treatment of blood disorders, building on Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot’s turnaround. Since taking over in 2012 he has pushed the U.K. drugmaker further into other lucrative areas such as cancer therapies.
AstraZeneca, along with the University of Oxford, has also developed a Covid-19 vaccine that’s shown effectiveness in large trials, despite questions around the study results.
Alexion shareholders will receive $60 in cash and 2.1243 AstraZeneca American Depositary Shares for each Alexion share, AstraZeneca said in a press release Saturday.
AstraZeneca shares have risen 7% this year and almost 70% over the past three years for a market value of 107 billion pounds ($142 billion).
The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021 and Alexion shareholders would own 15% of the combined companies.
