Bayer plans to acquire Norwegian pharmaceutical company Algeta.
The Bayer Group plans to further strengthen its oncology portfolio with the acquisition of Norwegian pharmaceutical company Algeta ASA, Oslo, according to a press release. Bayer has already collaborated with Algeta to develop and commercialize the cancer drug Xofigo. The planned acquisition would give Bayer full control over Xofigo.
Bayer has reached an agreement with Algeta’s Board of Directors to make a recommended voluntary public takeover offer to Algeta’s shareholders, and is offering them NOK 362 per share in cash. The offer implies an equity value of NOK 17.6 bn (EUR 2.1 bn) and an enterprise value of NOK 16.2 bn (EUR 1.9 bn). The offer price represents a premium of 37 % over the closing price on November 25, 2013, the day before Algeta confirmed that it had received a preliminary, non-binding acquisition proposal from Bayer, or a premium of 48 % over the unaffected three-month volume-weighted average share price on November 25, 2013.
The Board of Directors of Algeta has unanimously decided to recommend acceptance of the offer to its shareholders. In addition, Bayer has obtained pre-acceptances for approximately 14 % of the shares in Algeta, including pre-acceptances from all members of Algeta’s Board of Directors as well as from Algeta’s largest shareholder, HealthCap IV. Bayer intends to make the offer through a subsidiary of Bayer Nordic SE once the offer document has been cleared by the Oslo Stock Exchange. The successful completion of the transaction is subject to certain conditions, including a minimum acceptance level of 90% of the share capital and approval by the relevant antitrust authorities. Bayer expects to close the transaction during the first quarter of 2014.
