PARIS (Reuters) – French healthcare group Sanofi has agreed to buy U.S. haemophilia specialist Bioverativ for $11.6 billion, in a deal which it said would boost earnings and strengthen its presence in treatments for rare diseases.
The move comes at a time of renewed interest by large drugmakers in smaller biotech firms and predictions by some experts that 2018 will see a substantial pick-up in mergers and acquisitions.
Sanofi has agreed to buy all of the outstanding shares of Bioverativ for $105 per share in cash, marking a premium of 64 percent to Bioverativ’s closing price on January 19.
Bioverativ, a maker of haemophilia drugs, was separated from Biogen Inc early last year.
The agreed transaction marks Sanofi’s successful return to deal-making after its failure to land major takeovers in recent years. It is its biggest acquisition since the 2011 takeover of U.S. biotech company Genzyme for around $20 billion.
Sanofi shares fall on $11.6 billion Bioverativ takeover
In Europe, Novo Nordisk has offered $3.1 billion for Ablynx and Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical plans to buy TiGenix for $630 million.
The spate of deal-making follows a relatively subdued 2017 for biotech M&A.
Lazard advised Sanofi on the deal, while Guggenheim Securities and J.P. Morgan advised Bioverativ.
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