Circassia bids for respiratory plays Aerocrine, Prosonix

Circassia Pharmaceuticals plc (LSE:CIR) said it intends to acquire a pair of respiratory companies and raise about L275 million ($424.2 million) via a placing and open share offering.

Circassia proposed to buy asthma diagnostics company Aerocrine AB (SSE:AERO) for SEK2.55 per share, or about SEK1.8 billion ($214.6 million) in cash. The purchase price is an 18% premium to Aerocrine's Thursday close of SEK2.17. Circassia said the acquisition would add to its sales force in the U.S. and Europe ahead of its anticipated approval and launch of cat allergy therapy Cat-SPIRE, a T cell vaccine that uses ToleroMune T cell epitope desensitization technology. ...