Sanofi have announced the acquisition Belgian biotech company Ablynx for 3.9 billion euros, marking its second big deal this month after buying Bioverativ, a US hemophilia group last week.
The French drug-maker beat Danish pharmaceutical Novo Nordisk’s offer of 2.6 billion euros, which was initially rejected by the Belgian company.
The announcement shows a boost in the mergers and acquisition (M&A) activity of the global biotech sector. January saw a jump in biotech deals with multi-billion acquisitions such as US company Celgene buying cancer specialist Juno Therapeutics for $9 billion.
Sanofi will pay Ablynx 45 euros in cash per share, more than double of the price offered by Novo Nordisk initial offer. The Danish company wanted to add Ablynx to boost their haematology division, however, the Belgian biotech rejected their offers, stating their prospects were being “undervalued”.
Today’s announcement is on the back-off the acquisition of Bioverativ last week for $11.6 billion. It was the biggest deal in 7 years, part of their new plan to strengthen their presence in the rare blood diseases market.
The company’s last takeover was in 2011 when they acquired U.S. biotech company Genzyme for $20 billion.
“With Ablynx, we continue to advance the strategic transformation of our research and development, expanding our late-stage pipeline and strengthening our platform for growth in rare blood disorders,” said Olivier Brandicourt Sanofi CEO.
The company also said that the new purchase will have long-term benefits for their shareholders.
Ablynx chief executive Edwin Most agreed that the deal “represents compelling value for shareholders and maximises the potential of our pipeline to the benefit of all stakeholders.”