Jazz Pharma to buy Celator in $1.5 billion deal
Ireland-based Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc will buy U.S.-based Celator Pharmaceuticals Inc in a cash deal valued at about $1.5 billion, to gain access to an investigational product in development for treating acute myeloid leukemia.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals will pay $30.25 per share in cash for Celator, a 72.6 percent premium to Celator's closing price on Friday.In March, Ewing, New Jersey-based Celator said its Vyxeos treatment helped older high-risk patients with a deadly form of leukemia live longer than those who received the standard of care regimen in a late stage clinical trial.In May, the company said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had granted breakthrough therapy designation to Vyxeos.The deal is expected to add to Jazz Pharma's non-GAAP adjusted earnings beginning in 2018, the companies said in a statement on Tuesday."As Celator is currently preparing a regulatory submission in the U.S. for Vyxeos, this acquisition would add a new orphan product with the potential for short- and long-term revenue generation and expansion of our international commercial platform," Jazz Pharmaceuticals Chief Executive Bruce Cozadd said in a statement.Jazz Pharma will fund the deal, structured as a tender offer, with a combination of cash on hand and borrowings under its credit facility.RBC Capital Markets was the financial advisor and Cooley LLP was the legal counsel for Jazz Pharmaceuticals.http://www.reuters.com/
