UCB to Acquire Zogenix in Deal Valued at Up to $1.9 Billion

By Cristina Roca

UCB SA has agreed to buy biopharmaceutical company Zogenix Inc. in a deal worth up to about $1.9 billion.

The two companies said Wednesday that UCB will launch a tender offer on all outstanding Zogenix shares for $26 a share in cash at closing.

Shares in Zogenix, which commercializes and develops therapies for rare diseases, closed at $15.64 on Tuesday.

The deal is expected to be accretive to UCB's earnings from next year.

The companies also agreed to a contingent value right for a potential cash payment of $2 a share upon European Union approval of fintepla as an orphan medicine for treatment of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome by the end of 2023.

Both companies' boards have unanimously approved the transaction. Closing is expected in the second quarter of the year, and remains subject to a majority of the total number of Zogenix's outstanding shares being tendered, as well as antitrust clearances.

Write to Cristina Roca at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-19-22 0144ET