By Ludwig Burger
FRANKFURT (REUTERS) -German healthcare and materials group Merck KGaA has struck a deal, it said on Monday, to acquire U.S. biotech company SpringWorks Therapeutics for an equity value of $3.9 billion to boost its cancer drug business.
The company based in Darmstadt, Germany, said the purchase price of $47 per share in cash represents an equity value of about $3.9 billion, equivalent to an enterprise value of $3.4 billion (3.0 billion euros), when SpringWorks’ cash holdings are deducted.
Family-controlled Merck said last week the two companies were in late-stage discussions over a bid of around $47 per SpringWorks share.
It will be funded with available cash and new debt and is expected to be accretive to Merck’s earnings per share, adjusted for special items, in 2027, a statement from the German group said. It added it would still be able to pursue larger transactions.
Stamford, Connecticut-based SpringWorks, which listed its shares in New York in 2019, develops drugs to treat cancer and rare types of tumour.
It has two products on the market: Ogsiveo with 2024 sales of $172 million to treat desmoid tumours, an aggressive disease affecting soft tissue, as well as Gomekli, which was approved in February to treat NF1-PN, characterised by nerve sheath tumours.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Barbara Lewis)
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