Upon the completion of the tender offer, Astra Zeneca’s acquisition subsidiary will be joined with CinCor, and any pending shares will be canceled and converted into the right to receive the same merger concern per share
Astra Zeneca entered into a definitive agreement with CinCor in a deal worth 1.8 billion as Astra Zeneca seeks to expand its line of kidney and heart drugs. CinCor in its official statement released on Monday mentioned that Astra Zeneca is required to initiate a tender offer by January 2023 to acquire all of the company’s outstanding shares for $26.00 per share in cash at a non-tradable contingent value right of $10.00 per share, a value of roughly $1.3 billion and 121 percent premium over CinCor’s closing market price as of 6th January 2023.
Upon the completion of the tender offer, Astra Zeneca’s acquisition subsidiary will be joined with CinCor, and any pending shares will be canceled and converted into the right to receive the same merger concern per share payable in the Tender offer.
After a phase 2 trial of baxdrostat, a treatment that was intended to lower blood pressure failed to work in patients with uncontrollable hypertension, CinCor’s shares were sold off in November. The US company, however, is planning to have a phase 3 trial after a set of phase 2 trials proved successful.
“We are excited about the proposed acquisition of CinCor Pharma by AstraZeneca as we believe it offers the prospect of accelerating the development timeline and expanding the breadth of benefits patients with cardiorenal diseases might obtain from baxdrostat if approved”, states Marc de Garidel, Chief Executive Officer at CinCor. The company will ensure a smooth transition to Astra Zeneca when the acquisition is completed.
“Thank you to all who have played, and will continue to play, essential roles in developing and evaluating baxdrostat as a potential novel treatment for cardiorenal diseases”, he added. The deal to buy CinCor was the biggest among several that took place at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, which is the largest annual gathering of the pharmaceutical industry.
AstraZeneca will also acquire the cash and other securities on CinCor’s balance sheet, totaling about $520mn as a part of the deal. “AstraZeneca’s shared commitment to addressing the unmet medical need for patients with hypertension and cardiorenal disease will accelerate CinCor’s mission to develop and deliver life-changing therapies that improve patient care”, stated James Healy, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of CinCor’s Board of Directors, and Managing Partner at Sofinnova Investments adding that the CinCor team had already laid the clinical groundwork for the baxdrostat program.
Experts are estimating the present year to witness many such deal-makings in the industry as many drug-making giants focus on biotech valuations. For the smaller biotech companies, the past year was particularly tougher. The S&P index of the smaller companies plunged 19 percent after investors cut back on riskier bets when the central banks raised the interest rates.
Several companies are now seeking resources for funding in a current complicated market situation. Ionis Pharmaceuticals on Monday signed a deal worth up to $1 billion, in order to sell a share of its interest in royalties the company has in two drugs to develop new genetic medicines. Similarly, Qiagen also acquired Verogen, a DNA-biometrics group in a $150 million all-cash transaction.