Cubist, Merck deal

Merck will acquire Cubist for $102 per share and $1.1 billion in assumption of debt in a deal valued at $9.5 billion. The cash offer of $102 per share, or $8.4 billion, represents a 37% premium to Cubist’s close of $74.36 on Dec. 5, before the deal was announced. The pharma expects the acquisition to add more than $1 billion in sales next year and be “significantly” accretive to non-GAAP EPS beginning in 2016.

Last year, Cubist acquired two infectious disease companies for cash and contingent value rights (CVR) worth up to $1.6 billion in total. It acquired Optimer Pharmaceuticals Inc. for up to $801 million and Trius Therapeutics Inc. for up to $818 million (see BioCentury, Aug. 5, 2013). ...