Novartis is making one of the largest dealmaking gambles in its history, agreeing to spend billions of dollars to acquire biotechnology company Avidity Biosciences, which is working on RNA medicines for rare neuromuscular conditions. Per deal terms, Novartis is paying $72 per share to acquire Avidity. The offer values Avidity at $12 billion and represents a 46% per-share premium to the biotech’s $49.15 closing price on Friday. Avidity will concurrently split off early-stage work it’s doing in cardiovascular disease into a new, unnamed company that’s expected to be publicly traded. The deal is the year’s second-largest by total consideration, trailing only Johnson & Johnson’s $14.6 billion buyout of Intra-Cellular Therapies in January, according to BioPharma Dive data.
Read the full article: Novartis to Acquire Avidity in $12B Bet on RNA Drugs for Neuromuscular Disease //
Source: https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/novartis-avidity-acquire-deal-rna-drugs-neuromuscular-disease/803817/