Johnson & Johnson to buy Tibotec-Virco of Belgium in $320 million deal

Johnson & Johnson has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all ofthe assets of Tibotec-Virco NV, a privately-held Belgium-headquartered biopharmaceutical company which focuses on developing antiviral treatments. The transaction is valued at approximately $320 million in cash and debt.

J&J said it expects to incur a one-time charge of approximately $145 million, or $0.05 per share, upon closing the transaction, anticipated in the second quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approvals. Excluding the charges,which reflect the write-off of in-process R&D costs, the US major said that the acquisition is not expected to impact earnings for 2002 or 2003.

Headquartered in Mechelen, the Belgian company was formed through the merger of Tibotec and Virco last year (Marketletter January 29, 2001), and claims to apply "the latest techniques in ultra-high throughput screening, pharmacogenomics, molecular biology and artificial intelligence to discovering and developing new drugs."