Pfizer to Buy Arena Pharmaceuticals
Posted on 12/13/2021
Armed with revenues from COVID mRNA vaccine shots, Pfizer Inc. signed a deal to buy drug developer Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for US$ 6.7 billion in cash. Under the terms of the agreement, Pfizer will acquire all the outstanding shares of Arena for US$ 100 per share in an all-cash transaction for a total equity value of approximately US$ 6.7 billion. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction. This is the latest deal Pfizer has inked in 2021 to expand its treatment pipeline.
Arena’s portfolio includes development-stage therapeutic candidates in gastroenterology, dermatology, and cardiology, including etrasimod, an oral, selective sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulator currently in development for a range of immuno-inflammatory diseases including gastrointestinal and dermatological diseases.
Advisors
Pfizer’s financial advisors for the transaction are BofA Securities and Centerview Partners LLC, with Ropes & Gray and Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP acting as its legal advisors. Guggenheim Securities, LLC and Evercore Group LLC served as Arena’s financial advisors, while Cooley LLP served as its legal advisor.
In November 2021, Pfizer acquired immuno-oncology company Trillium Therapeutics for circa US$ 2.22 billion to strengthen its exposure to blood cancer therapies.