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Highlights
- Novo Nordisk will acquire Dicerna Pharmaceuticals for US$3.3 billion.
- After the acquisition, Novo expects to begin the clinical development of its first investigational therapeutic in 2022.
- The transaction, which would be debt-financed, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Shares of Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRNA) jumped more than 78% in the premarket session on Thursday, November 18, after the Danish pharmaceutical major Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO) announced plans to buy Dicerna.
The DRNA stock traded at US$37.97 at 8:54 am ET, up 78.43% from their previous close.
The Lexington, Massachusetts-based biotechnology firm announced on Thursday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell itself to Novo Nordisk.
Novo Nordisk has agreed to acquire Dicerna for US$3.3 billion or US$38.25 per share at a premium of 80% to Decerna's Wednesday closing price in a cash deal. The transaction has been approved unanimously by the board of directors of both companies.
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Dicerna-Novo Nordisk Partnership
The two healthcare companies have been working together in research projects using Dicerna's ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) therapeutics since 2019.
They were researching the therapeutics to counteract the genes that cause or trigger diseases. In addition, the companies have also worked together on clinical candidates for conditions like chronic liver illness, obesity, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), etc.
Novo Nordisk said in a statement that this acquisition would aid the firm in developing and applying a wide range of "technology platforms across all Novo Nordisk therapeutics areas". In addition, after the acquisition, Novo expects to begin the clinical development of its first investigational therapeutic in 2022.
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Company stock highlights and financials:
Dicerna has a market cap of US$1.65 billion, with an EPS of US$-1.63. Its 52-week highest and lowest stock prices were US$40.14 and US$19.06, respectively. The DRNA stock tumbled 3.58% YTD. The company reported a net loss of US$17.07 million on revenue US$62.95 million in Q3, FY21, compared to a loss of US$21.84 million on revenue US$48.87 million a year ago.
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Bottomline
The transaction, which would be debt-financed, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021. Meanwhile, the acquisition will not affect the full-fiscal 2021 guidance of Novo Nordisk but may cause a 3% decline in its 2022 operating profit growth, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 healthcare sector surged 17.59% YTD while increasing by 4.91% QTD.
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Versha Jain - Financial Journalist648 PostsVersha is a post-graduate in finance and has vast experience in the retail banking and education sectors. She also holds a keen interest in development work. At Kalkine, she writes on stock markets, companies, equities, and IPOs, etc....
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Sanjeeb Baruah - Financial Journalist368 PostsSanjeeb is a senior journalist who has been in the media for nearly two decades. He wrote on various topics, from politics, international relations, business to wildlife. At Kalkine, he writes on stock markets, companies, equities, and IPOs, etc....
