LONDON – Even amid epidemics, pharmaceutical maker AstroZeneca agreed to buy $ 39 billion in cash and shares on Saturday as corporate agents resume large ticket acquisitions. The deal comes as AstraZeneca is in the final stages of testing the Covid-19 vaccine, which it is developing with one of the most important candidates, the University of Oxford – but it has also faced questions about its effectiveness. Through the deal for Alexian, AstraZeneca, a health care company, will increase its offerings for rare diseases such as anemia this year. This comes as corporate boards continue to restore confidence in the early stages of the epidemic. As stock markets rise and credit financing becomes cheaper due to central bank policies, companies have resumed their search for growth and size – including through acquisitions. Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will pay $ 60 in cash per share of Alexian and 2.1243 on its US deposit receipts. It is $ 175 a share, which is almost 45 percent of Alexian’s closing price on Friday. Astrogeneca, headquartered in Cambridge, UK, has been focusing on cancer treatments in recent years, with Cholesterol Treatment Crester losing patent protection after its previous best-selling drugs. In July, the company agreed to pay up to $ 6 billion in partnership with Japanese pharmaceutical maker Daisy Sangyo on possible treatment for lung and breast cancer. But AstraZeneca has become more popular in recent months for working in a different area: the Covit-19 vaccine, which works in collaboration with researchers at Oxford. At the end of November both announced that their corona virus vaccine was up to 90 percent effective. Unlike some of the leading vaccine candidates, including Pfizer and Moderna, the AstraZeneca offering can be widely manufactured quickly, costing only a few dollars per dose, and is easy to save for a long time. , Now the question is whether the effectiveness of its vaccine will be maintained under further testing. The deal for Alexei will help AstraZeneca expand into another field: the immune system, where treatments will be most profitable for their makers. Alexian, based in Boston, is known for focusing on the fight against rare diseases: its best drugs include solaris and aldomyris, which treat anemia. This confirms AstraZeneca’s expectation that the deal will lead to a double – digit sales increase in 2025 and help boost its dividend payments. AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said in a statement. The company has been funded by financier Paul E. in recent years. It faced pressure from Elliott Management, a $ 41 billion activist investment firm run by Singer. Hedge Finance has repeatedly criticized Alexian for its business strategy, in which the multi-billion dollar corporate acquisition has been disappointing. . A spokesman for the Hedge Fund declined to comment on Saturday. Alexion’s shareholders are expected to hold about 15 percent in the consolidated company by the end of the deal, which is expected by next September, with approval from regulators and investors in both companies pending.
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