AbbVie buys Pharmacyclics in a deal for 21 billion USD

AbbVie buys Pharmacyclics in a deal for 21 billion USD. The company surpassed the offer of rival Johnson & Johnson to control revolutionary therapy of cancer of the blood that will enable it to develop in the field of oncology. Under the deal, the American producer of rare medicines AbbVie will pay 261.25 USD per share in cash and new shares of AbbVie, announced in a statement the two companies on Thursday. The price was 39% above the closing price of the shares of Pharmacyclics Inc from 24th February 2015, the day before announcing the possibility of the deal.

Acquisitions will help AbbVie to reduce its dependence on Humira, best-selling product is the company’s treatment of arthritis. Now it will be able to expand in the field of cancer therapy, one of the most promising areas of development of pharmaceuticals. AbbVie will gain control over Imbruvica, easy to use pill that costs about 100 thousand dollars a year and helps to avoid some serious side effects of chemotherapy. It has already been approved for the four different types of leukemia.

Pharmacyclics led negotiations and almost had agreed to be acquired by Johnson & Johnson. The discussed price was 250 USD per share, but AbbVie made better offer at the last minute, said a source familiar with the situation. AbbVie expects about 58% of the transaction to be paid in cash and 42% – equity, and be completed by mid-year. Its shares rose 1.1 percent to 60.27 dollars a share in New York. Since separated from Abbott Laboratories in 2013, AbbVie had not been able to finish any of тхе мега-деалс that tempt most of the drug industry.