今日，默沙东（Merck & Co）正式宣布，与抗生素巨头Cubist达成一项最终协议，将以每股102美元溢价35%现金收购Cubist。该笔交易已获双方董事会一致批准，总价值高达95亿美元，包括84亿美元股权估值和11亿美元的净债务及其他考虑因素。
默沙东董事长兼首席执行官Kenneth C.Frazier表示，Cubist是抗生素领域的全球领导者，该公司已建立了一个强大的管线资产，包括已上市产品及后期管线产品。将Cubist在全球抗生素领域的专长与默沙东雄厚的实力和全球影响力强强联合，将使我们在医院急诊护理领域创造一个更有利的地位，同时解决关键领域未获满足的医疗需求，如抗生素耐药性。
Cubist首席执行官Michael Bonney表示，与默沙东的结合是一个激动人心的机遇，将加快Cubist奠定抗生素全球领导地位，同时将为股东带来显著而直接的价值，我们对默沙东怀有深深的敬意，默沙东强大的商业平台、全球影响力和科学专长，将使Cubist茁壮成长。
过去20多年来，Cubist一直致力于通过发现、开发和供应抗生素治疗严重潜在危及生命的感染，解决全球的公共卫生
问题。默沙东表示，收购Cubist与公司去年推出的全球倡议和战略相互补预计，尤其是加强关键治疗领域的投资回报潜力。默沙东预计，收购Cubist将直接使该公司2015年新增10亿美元收入。（生物谷Bioon.com）
英文原文：Merck to Acquire Cubist Pharmaceuticals for $102 Per Share in Cash
Acquisition Augments Merck’s Strong Foundation and Opportunity for Growth in Hospital Acute Care Market
KENILWORTH, N.J. & LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, and Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBST) today announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which Merck will acquire Cubist for $102 per share in cash, which represents a 35 percent premium to Cubist’s average stock price for the most recent five trading days.
Unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, the transaction has an equity valuation of $8.4 billion and will also include $1.1 billion in net debt (based on projected cash balances) and other considerations for a total transaction value of approximately $9.5 billion.
“Cubist is a global leader in antibiotics and has built a strong portfolio of both marketed and late-stage pipeline medicines,” said Kenneth C. Frazier, chairman and chief executive officer, Merck. “Combining this expertise with Merck’s strong capabilities and global reach will enable us to create a stronger position in hospital acute care while addressing critical areas of unmet medical need, such as antibiotic resistance.”
“Combining with Merck is an exciting opportunity to accelerate Cubist’s established leadership in antibiotics and deliver significant, certain and immediate value to shareholders,” said Michael Bonney, chief executive officer, Cubist. “We have a deep respect for Merck, and it is clear that they share our commitment to addressing the growing, global problem we are facing in combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Under Merck’s robust commercial platform, global reach and scientific expertise, we believe Cubist's programs can thrive. We’re proud of the company that our team has built and are confident that Cubist's important mission and focus on significant unmet medical needs will continue.”
For more than 20 years, Cubist has been committed to global public health through the discovery, development and supply of antibiotics to treat serious and potentially life-threatening infections caused by a broad range of increasingly drug-resistant bacteria. Cubist’s antibiotic CUBICIN®, the only approved once-a-day therapy for both S. aureus bacteremia and complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI), has been used to treat more than two million patients and continues to be an important therapy in the acute care environment. Cubist’s in-line and late-stage pipeline of anti-infective medicines, including ZERBAXA™ which is pending approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, will enhance Merck’s hospital acute care business in a variety of therapeutic areas, including Gram-positive and Gram-negative multi-drug resistant infections.
The acquisition of Cubist creates strong fundamental value with return on capital in excess of Merck's hurdle rate within a few years of closing. Merck expects the acquisition to add more than $1 billion of revenue to its 2015 base. While the transaction will be neutral to non-GAAP EPS in 2015, Merck expects it to be significantly accretive to non-GAAP EPS in 2016 and beyond. The acquisition will be accretive to both Merck’s sales and earnings growth.
Cubist complements Merck’s strategy and the global initiative Merck launched last year, particularly in the area of sharpening its commercial focus on key therapeutic areas that have the potential to deliver the greatest return on investment. With the company’s long-standing leadership in anti-infectives as well as its customer-focused operating model, Merck identified the hospital acute care segment as one of the company’s key priority areas in which it believes it can have the greatest impact in addressing significant unmet medical needs while delivering the greatest value to customers and society.
Merck strategically focused on acute care within the larger hospital setting as a top priority because of the significant unmet need and the unique opportunities for Merck to improve patient care and manage costs in this setting with its in-line portfolio, promising pipeline and its customer capabilities.
Hospitals are a central hub for healthcare delivery around the world and currently represent 25 percent of overall healthcare spend. Merck believes now is an optimal time to significantly grow its hospital acute care presence because of the positive regulatory and reimbursement trends in the hospital setting and the increasingly important role that hospitals are expected to provide in healthcare overall.
For the first three quarters of 2014 compared to 2013, Merck’s hospital acute care portfolio grew by more than 10 percent, excluding the impact of foreign exchange. Key products in Merck’s hospital acute care portfolio include several antibiotics and antifungals, as well as BRIDION® (sugammadex), which is marketed outside the United States and is currently under regulatory review in the United States. In addition, Merck has continued to invest in its hospital acute care pipeline and has several candidates, including actoxumab/bezlotoxumab (MK-3415A), an investigational combination of therapeutic antibodies targeting two C.difficile pathogenic toxins (A and B), which is being evaluated in clinical trials for the prevention of recurrence of C.difficile infection; and relebactam (MK-7655), an investigational class A and C beta-lactamase inhibitor being evaluated in clinical trials for the treatment of severe bacterial infections.
Under the terms of the agreement, Merck, through a subsidiary, will initiate a tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The closing of the tender offer will be subject to certain conditions, including the tender of shares representing at least a majority of the total number of Cubist’s outstanding shares (assuming the exercise of all options), the expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act and other customary conditions. Upon the completion of the tender offer, Merck will acquire all remaining shares through a second-step merger without the need for a stockholder vote under Delaware law. The companies expect the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2015.
