Merck & Co pays 100% premium to buy Sirna Therapeutics for $1.1 billion
*p US pharmaceutical major Merck & Co is to pay a premium of nearly 102% to acquire Sirna Therapeutics, a publicly-held biotechnology company focussed on the development of a new class of medicines based on RNA interference technology.
Under the terms of the agreed , all-cash accord, Merck will pay $13.00 a share for San Francisco-based Sirna, compared with the firm's closing price of $6.45 ahead of the offer, or a total of some $1.1 billion. Market reaction was slightly negative, as Merck's stock dipped 1% to $45.64 on the news, which was released just before Wall Street's closing on October 30. Sirna's shares leapt 98% to $12.74 in after-hours trading.
Enhances position in RNAi technology
This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.
Login to your accountTry before you buy
Free
7 day trial access
- All the news that moves the needle in pharma and biotech
- Exclusive features, podcasts, interviews, data analyses and commentary from our global network of life sciences reporters.
- Receive The Pharma Letter daily news bulletin, free forever.
Become a subscriber
£820
Or £77 per month
- Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
- Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
- Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
- Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
- Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription
The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed
Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK
Today's issue
Company Spotlight
Copyright © The Pharma Letter 2024 | Headless Content Management with Blaze