Sanofi to buy Bioverativ for 11.6 billion dollars

PARIS: French healthcare group Sanofi has agreed to buy U.S. peer Bioverativ for $11.6 billion, in a deal which Sanofi said would boost its earnings and strengthen its presence in the field of treatments for rare diseases.

Sanofi has agreed to buy all of the outstanding shares of Bioverativ for $105 per share in cash, marking a premium of 64 percent to Bioverativ's closing price on January 19, 2018.

Bioverativ, a hemophilia drugmaker, was separated from Biogen Inc early last year.

The Bioverativ deal also comes after Sanofi had failed to land major takeovers in recent years.

Sanofi lost out on buying California-based cancer specialist Medivation to Pfizer in 2016 and missed out on Swiss biotech company Actelion, which was bought by Johnson and Johnson last year.

"With Bioverativ, a leader in the growing hemophilia market, Sanofi enhances its presence in specialty care and leadership in rare diseases, in line with its 2020 Roadmap, and creates a platform for growth in other rare blood disorders," said Sanofi chief executive Olivier Brandicourt, in a statement.

"Together, we have a great opportunity to bring innovative medicines to patients worldwide, building on Bioverativ's success in driving new standards of care with its extended half-life factor replacement therapies," he added.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that the deal was imminent.

Sanofi expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to its business earnings per share in the 2018 full financial year and up to 5 percent accretive for the following year.

Sanofi is also projected to achieve a return on its invested capital (ROIC) in excess of the cost of capital within three years, while the French group also expects to preserve its strong credit rating, Sanofi added.

Lazard advised Sanofi on the deal, while Guggenheim Securities and J.P. Morgan advised Bioverativ.