Maxi acquisition in the pharmaceutical sector. The French giant Sanofi has signed a definitive merger agreement with Kadmon Holdings, a Nasdaq-listed US biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and markets “transformative therapies for disease areas with significantly unmet medical needs.”
They will go to Kadmon shareholders $9,5 per share (8,02 euros) in cash. The offer price represents a 79% premium to yesterday's stock market closing price a premium of about 113% compared to the volume weighted average price of 60 trading days. The total value of the operation, which has already been unanimously approved by the boards of both companies, is approximately 1,9 billion dollars.
The acquisition - highlights a note from the French group - supports Sanofi's strategy to continue to grow its core business General Medicines and will immediately add Rezurock (belumosudil) to its drug portfolio for transplants. Rezurock is a recently FDA-approved treatment for graft versus host disease (cGVHD), an immune reaction exerted by transplanted cells against the tissues of the person receiving them.
“We are thrilled to add Kadmon's Rezurock to our established portfolio of transplant treatments,” he said. Olivier Charmeil, Executive Vice President General Medicines at Sanofi – Our scale, experience and existing relationships create an ideal platform for us to achieve the full potential of Rezurock.”
“We are thrilled that Sanofi has recognized the value of Rezurock and the profound potential of our pipeline,” he said Harlan Waksal, president and chief executive officer, Kadmon. After the announcement, at Paris Stock Exchange, the Sanofi share dropped 2,6% to 50,21 euros, while on the Nasdaq Kadmon shares they gain more than 72% approaching the offer price.
