11th Nov 2013 07:50
LONDON (Alliance News) - Shire PLC Monday said it has an agreed deal to buy US rare disease company ViroPharma for about USD4.2 billion in cash, an acquisition that it expects to boost earnings straight away.
In a joint statement, the companies said Shire will pay about USD50 a share for the US company. Shire expects to achieve USD150 million in annual cost synergies by 2015 through the acquisition, over and above the cost savings it hopes to achieve through its ongoing restructuring programme. It said its rare diseases treatments will now have a revenue base of USD2 billion.
"The acquisition of ViroPharma will immediately benefit Shire and is entirely consistent with our clear strategic objective of strengthening our rare disease portfolio. It brings us a new growth driving product which augments our already strong growth prospects," Shire Chief Executive Flemming Ornskov said.
ViroPharma's main commercial product is Cinryze, a prophylactic treatment of Hereditary Angioedema. It is complementary to Shire's own Firazyr icatibant injection for acute Hereditary Angioedema attacks, the companies said.
"Shire is uniquely positioned to drive the continued success of Cinryze for the benefit of patients through our knowledge of the rare disease space, our international infrastructure and our biologics manufacturing expertise," Ornskov said.
ViroPharma posted total revenues of USD428 million in 2012. The company is forecasting revenues of between USD445 million to USD465 million in 2013.
By Steve McGrath; [email protected]; @SteveMcGrath1
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