FRANKFURT - Britain's AstraZeneca has agreed to buy US drugmaker Alexion Pharmaceuticals for $39 billion in its largest ever deal, diversifying away from its fast-growing cancer business in a bet on rare-disease and immunology drugs.
Based on a reference average ADR price of $54.14, that implies a total price of $175 per share. Alexion shares closed at around $121 apiece on Friday. AstraZeneca hopes that an improved version of Soliris called Ultomiris has an even larger market potential. It expects more growth from introducing the target's rare-disease treatments to China and other emerging markets.
With a planned capital increase of about $25 billion after the deal closure, Soriot is looking to harness a strong advance by AstraZeneca stock, driven by the stellar growth of new cancer drugs. Elliott first invested in Alexion in 2017 when the share price was only slightly lower than Friday's close of $120.98. Elliott did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Soriot also told reporters the deal was the result of exclusive talks and no competitive bidder was involved.