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J&J to acquire Omrix

November 25, 2008 1:48 AM UTC

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) said it will acquire Omrix (NASDAQ:OMRI) for $25 per share in cash, or $438 million. The price is an 18% premium to Omrix's close of $21.16 on Friday, before the deal was announced. J&J said the deal would provide its Ethicon subsidiary with a bigger presence in biologic-based hemostats and related products for surgical applications. Ethicon already has exclusive U.S. and EU distribution rights to two biologic-based hemostats from Omrix -- Evicel human fibrin sealant and Evithrom human thrombin -- and is co-developing Omrix's Fibrin Pad, a bioabsorbable patch that is in Phase II testing to treat mild to moderate bleeding. At Sept. 30, Omrix had nine-month sales of $52.9 million. The boards of both companies have approved the deal, which is expected to close by year end. ...