Horizon reiterates rejected bid for Depomed
Depomed Inc. (NASDAQ:DEPO) gained $7.98 (39%) to $28.62 after it received an unsolicited bid from Horizon Pharma plc (NASDAQ:HZNP) to acquire the company for $29.25 per share, a 42% premium to Depomed's close of $20.64 on Monday. The all-stock deal would value Depomed at $1.8 billion. Depomed said it rejected a takeover proposal Horizon sent on May 27 and another on June 12 that Depomed said was "identical in all material respects."
The proposed deal would give Horizon a portfolio of CNS therapies, including several analgesics. Gralise, a once-daily formulation of gabapentin using Acuform delivery technology that is approved to treat post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), accounted for $17.2 million in revenues during 1Q15, or 55% of Depomed's product sales. Depomed obtained U.S. rights earlier this year to the Nucynta tapentadol analgesic franchise, consisting of formulations of a mu opioid receptor (MOR) agonist and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) (see BioCentury Extra, Jan. 15). ...