AbbVie shares sink after $21 bn deal for Pharmacyclics
AbbVie shares sank Thursday after the US pharmaceutical firm announced it will buy leukemia drug maker Pharmacyclics in a $21 billion deal.
AbbVie and Pharmacyclics said in a statement late Wednesday that their boards of directors had approved the acquisition, which strengthens AbbVie's cancer drugs pipeline.
The deal marks AbbVie's first major acquisition after it backed away from a planned takeover of Shire Pharmaceuticals that would have moved its tax base to Ireland after US authorities cracked down on tax inversions.
AbbVie will pay $261.25 per share in a mix of cash and AbbVie equity. That represents a 13.4 percent premium to Pharmacyclics closing price of $230.48 Wednesday.
AbbVie shares fell 2.2 percent to $58.94 in early trade Thursday, while Pharmacyclics jumped 10.6 percent to $254.97.
AbbVie said the acquisition will boost its already strong cancer treatment pipeline with Pharmacyclics's blockbuster drug Imbruvica that treats blood cancers.
The Chicago-based company, best known for the anti-inflammatory drug Humira, said that market was rapidly growing and near $24 billion globally.
"Significant opportunity exists with further Imbruvica indications, including solid tumors, the potential to leverage AbbVie's immunology expertise for the development of Pharmacyclics's immunology program, and advance AbbVie's efforts in hematologic malignancies," it said.
© 2015 AFP
