J&J acquiring Actelion, spinning out newco

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) will acquire Actelion Ltd. (SIX:ATLN) for $280 per share in cash, or about $30 billion. Based on current exchange rates, the price is a 23% premium to Actelion's closing price Wednesday of CHF227.40.

The partners said Actelion's drug discovery operations and early stage assets will be spun into a new company listed in Switzerland and led by Actelion CEO Jean-Paul Clozel. Actelion shareholders will receive one share of the newco's stock for each share they own. J&J will hold 16% of the newco's shares, and will hold a convertible note for an additional 16%...