Posts Tagged ‘mergers and acquisitions’

Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ANDS) soars on buyout news

Monday, October 17th, 2011

Shares of biopharmaceutical company, Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANDS) surged more than 250 percent from Friday’s closing price in morning trading on Monday after the San Diego-based company announced a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by pharmaceutical giant Roche for $3.70 per share, or about $230 million.

“With Roche’s considerable capabilities and experience in HCV, we believe this acquisition provides the best chance of success for the new potential treatments to reach patients,” said Steve Worland, Ph.D., President and CEO of Anadys in an October 17 press release.

Anadys shares touched a high of $3.67, up from Friday’s closing price of $1.04.

Anadys currently has two hepatitis C drug candidates in clinical trials. Last week, the company announced that a mid-stage trial of its hepatitis C drug, setrobuvir, showed promise, Reuters reported. Setrobuvir, a direct-acting antiviral that works by interacting with and blocking a component of the virus, is in mid-stage trials.

“We are pleased with today’s data, which we believe demonstrate a compelling profile for setrobuvir in significantly more patients,” Worland said in an October 13 press release.

Anadys’ other hepatitis C drug, ANA773, is in early-stage development, and works by stimulating the patient’s own immune system to block cells infected with the virus, Reuters reported on Monday.

Roche’s acquisition of Anadys will help the company strengthen its hepatitis portfolio. “Our aim is to offer physicians and hepatitis patients a powerful combination of therapies that bring us closer to a cure, even without the use of interferon,” said Jean-Jacques Garaud, Global Head of Roche Pharma Research and Early Development in an October 17 press release. “Anadys’ compounds provide additional modes of action that could lead to interferon-free treatment regimens without viral resistance.”

 

 

Tags: ,
Posted in Health Care Stocks, Penny Stocks | No Comments »

Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc. (PPDI) soars on private equity buyout news

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

Shares of Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPDI) were up as much as 27 percent from Friday’s closing price in morning trading on Monday after it was announced that PPD entered into a definitive merger agreement under which it will be acquired by affiliates of The Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman in an all-cash transaction valued at $3.9 billion, after which PPD will be a private company, an October 3 press release stated.

Shares of PPDI touched a high of $32.63, up from Friday’s closing price of $25.66.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Carlyle and Hellman & Friedman will acquire the outstanding common shares of PPD for $33.25 per share in cash. This represents a premium of 29.6 percent over PPD’s closing price on September 30, 2011.

“The sale of PPD to The Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman provides an attractive return for our shareholders, while also ensuring a secure foundation and commitment to investment, innovation and excellence for PPD clients and employees as the company builds on its 25-year history of success,” said Fred Eshelman, founder and executive chairman of Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc. in an October 3 press release.

Pharmaceutical product Development, Inc. is a leading global contract research organization that provides drug discovery, development and lifecycle management services for clients and partners including pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government organizations.

The transaction is currently expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2011. Following completion of the transaction, PPD will become a privately held company and its stock will no longer trade on Nasdaq. PPD noted that, in light of the proposed transaction, it will not host a conference call to discuss financial results for the third quarter of 2011.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Health Care Stocks | No Comments »

Harleysville Group, Inc. (HGIC) soars on acquisition news

Thursday, September 29th, 2011

Shares of insurance company Harleysville Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGIC) surged almost 86 percent from Wdnesday’s closing price, in morning trading on Thursday after Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. confirmed that it will acquire Harleysville  for $760 million to expand its commercial insurance lines of business and add capacity on the East Coast.

Harleysville shares touched a 52-week high of $58.60, up from Wednesday’s closing price of $31.52.

“Harleysville is very pleased to join forces with Nationwide in a transaction that will enable us to expand our business for our independent agency partners and to enter important new markets from a position of even greater strength,” said Michael Browne, President and Chief Executive Officer of Harleysville in a September 29 press release.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Pennsylvania-based Harleysville Mutual would merge into Nationwide Mutual and Harleysville Group, Harleysville Mutual’s publicly traded subsidiary, would be merged with a newly formed subsidiary of Nationwide Mutual. Each public stockholder of Harleysville Group would receive $60.00 per share in cash. Upon closing, Harleysville Group would be a wholly owned subsidiary of Nationwide.

The transactions are subject to customary closing conditions, including, among others, approvals from stockholders of Harleysville Group; policyholders of Harleysville Mutual and Nationwide Mutual; the Pennsylvania Insurance Department; the Ohio Department of Insurance; and various other regulatory bodies. The transactions are expected to close in early 2012.

 

Tags: , ,
Posted in Business Services | No Comments »

ResCare, Inc. (RSCR) – Buzz Stock of the Day

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Shares of home care services provider ResCare, Inc. (Nasdaq: RSCR) surged as much as 20 percent from Friday’s closing price in morning trading on Monday after it was announced that Toronto-based investment firm, Onex offered to buy approximately 75 percent of the common and preferred shares of Res-Care for $12.60 per share, which is a 24 percent premium over Friday’s closing price of $10.14 per share.

Affiliates of Onex currently hold 24.9 percent of the common and preferred shares of Louisville-based Res-Care.
[–quote–]
There currently are about 29 million shares outstanding.

ResCare recently reported second quarter profit of $8.1 million, or 28 cents per diluted common share, up from $7.1 million, or 25 cents per diluted common share in the same period a year ago. Second quarter revenue dipped 2 percent to $396.1 million, compared to revenue of $405.3 million for the same period in 2009. EBITDA for the second quarter of 2010 was $26.4 million versus $23.7 million in the prior year quarter.

ResCare confirmed its 2010 guidance issued on March 8, 2010, including revenues of approximately $1.6 billion and diluted earnings per common share in the range of $1.05 to $1.15.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Health Care Stocks | No Comments »

EF Johnson Technologies, Inc. (EFJI) – Buzz Stock of the Day

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Shares of communications service provider, EF Johnson Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: EFJI) were up 40 percent from Friday’s close in morning trading on Monday after the company announced that an affiliate of Francisco Partners will acquire all of the outstanding shares of EF Johnson Technologies’ common stock for $1.50 per share in cash. The new offer represents a 42 percent increase over the $1.05 per share cash purchase price contemplated by the parties’ original merger agreement previously announced on May 17, 2010.

The merger was unanimously approved by EF Johnson Technologies’ board of directors.

[–quote–]

“Our amended merger agreement with Francisco Partners provides increased all-cash premium value to our stockholders and reflects Francisco Partners’ strong commitment to the transaction,” said Michael E. Jalbert, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of EF Johnson Technologies, Inc. in a statement. “We are proud of the value we have delivered to our stockholders through this amended merger agreement, and are excited to work closely with Francisco Partners to complete the transaction as expeditiously as possible.”

EF Johnson Technologies’ communications product portfolio includes Project 25 compliant two-way radios, P25 compliant trunked and conventional infrastructure systems, voice encryption modules for all brands of analog two-way radios, and FIPS 140-2 Validated™ secure wireless broadband, mesh and WLAN solutions. The company’s customers include the US Army, US Air Force, US Navy, US Department of Homeland Security, US Coast Guard, and FEMA, to name a few.

Shares of EFJI are up about 53 percent over the past three months.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Penny Stocks, Technology Stocks | 1 Comment »