The Irish drug manufacturer Horizon Therapeutics is regarding to be taken over by the US biotechnology group Amgen. Amgen is offering around $116.50 per share in cash, Horizon announced in Dublin. That’s a good 26 billion dollars in total. Overall, the deal corresponds to an enterprise value including debt of 28.3 billion US dollars (26.8 billion euros). Horizon supports the offer.
The Bloomberg news agency had previously reported on a possible transaction.
It would be Amgen’s biggest acquisition ever. The price is almost 20 percent above the Horizon closing price of $97.29 on the US technology exchange Nasdaq on Friday. Shares jumped almost 15 percent to $111.75 at the start of trading on Monday. Amgen shares, on the other hand, fell nearly 0.4 percent.
The takeover provoked mixed reactions among analysts. The transaction makes sense in theory, noted Wells Fargo analyst Mohit Bansal. However, he questioned the timing. His biggest concerns are that the acquisition won’t help Amgen in 2025-2030. However, this is exactly when the company’s pipeline needs support. Also according to RBC Capital Markets’ Gregory Renza, Amgen will need time to gain access to Horizon’s portfolio.
For Mizuho Securities’ Salim Syed, the acquisition makes strategic sense, especially given the emerging competition for multiple drugs, such as rheumatism drug Enbrel. Amgen might potentially lose around 40 percent of its sales to generic drug competition by 2023. He does not see the risk that the supervisory authorities will not approve the deal because there is no overlap.
Horizon is designed to accelerate Amgen’s growth, the statement said. In addition, the group expects that the acquisition will make a positive contribution to adjusted earnings per share (EPS) from 2024 onwards. Efficiency gains are expected to save at least $500 million annually beginning in the third fiscal year following the close of the acquisition.
The French pharmaceutical company Sanofi and a subsidiary of the US healthcare company Johnson & Johnson were also interested in a takeover. Sanofi dropped out of the race over the weekend. The US group had withdrawn earlier.