FRANKFURT: Belgian drug maker UCB SA is making a 4.4-billion-euro bid for Germany's Schwarz Pharma AG. Confirming the acquisition proposal, Schwarz Pharma said in a statement UCB is offering 50 euros per share in cash and 0.8735 new UCB shares per Schwarz Pharma share.
The offer values Schwarz Pharma at around 4.4 billion euros.
The statement said the company's board is recommending the offer to the shareholders. The Schwarz family, which has nearly 60 per cent holding in the company, has accepted the offer. The family has also agreed to retain at least 41.5 per cent stake in the new company it will get through the share allocation at least till June 2010.
The merger will create a group with annual sales exceeding 3.3 billion euros and R&D spending of 770 million euros. The unified group will also have a strong pipeline of neurology and anti-inflammation drugs.
Monheim, Germany-based Schwarz is the first company to introduce a generic version of AstraZeneca's ulcer drug Prilosec. It is now more into developing its own medicines, including a patch for Parkinson's Disease, which could generate some 2 billion euros a year in revenue.
