Monday April 23, 10:22 AM
Pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca buys MedImmune for $15.6 billion
LONDON (AFP) - Anglo-Swedish pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN.L - news) said Monday that it has agreed to buy US biotechnology company MedImmune (NASDAQ: MEDI - news) for 15.6 billion dollars (11.5 billion euros).
"AstraZeneca today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire MedImmune Inc. in an all-cash transaction," the group said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange (LSE: LSE.L - news) .
"Under the terms of the agreement, which has unanimous MedImmune Board support, AstraZeneca will acquire all of the ... shares of MedImmune common stock at a price of 58 dollars per share, for a total consideration of approximately 15.6 billion dollars."
AstraZeneca, the third-biggest European drugs maker behind GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK.L - news) and Sanofi (Paris: FR0000120578 - news) -Aventis, revealed that the deal was expected to complete in June 2007.
MedImmune is based in Maryland in the eastern United States and specialises in vaccines. Cost savings from the acquisition were expected to be towards 500 million dollars per year by 2009.
AstraZeneca chief executive David Brennan said that the purchase "creates a leading fully integrated biologics and vaccines business."
He added that the transaction "enhances AstraZeneca's R and D (research and development) science base through which we will deliver a stronger product pipeline."
The pharmaceuticals sector refers to a portfolio of drugs that are under development as their pipeline.
David M. Mott, CEO and president of MedImmune, added in the statement that his company was "very pleased" to become part of AstraZeneca.
He added: "We believe that this transaction is in the best interest of all parties, including shareholders, employees and ultimately patients."
"The potential to harness the combined skills and capabilities of MedImmune, AstraZeneca and CAT and take our combined world class biologics capabilities to the next level, is very exciting and a challenge to which I am personally committed."
AstraZeneca had won full control of Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT) last year in a deal which valued the Britain-based group at 702 million pounds. CAT makes drugs using antibodies, the body's natural defences against infections.
In Monday morning trade, meanwhile, AstraZeneca saw its shares slump 1.46 percent to 2,910.00 pence, as the group also unveiled strong first-quarter results which had already been priced in, dealers said.
London's FTSE 100 (news) shares index, on which the group is traded, gained 0.52 percent to 6,474.10 points.
AstraZeneca revealed that it had made a "good" start to the group's financial year.
Pre-tax profits increased 11.0 percent to 2.27 billion dollars in the three months to March 31, 2007, compared with 2.04 billion dollars in the same period the previous year.
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