Alexa-Zeneca buys US biotech company Alexion for $39 billion advised by Freshfields, Wachtell and Macfarlanes

Alexa-Zeneca buys US biotech company Alexion for $39 billion advised by Freshfields, Wachtell and Macfarlanes 

While awaiting approval to roll out Covid-19 vaccine, the deal will make the British pharma major a big player in the lucrative blood disease sector

British pharmaceuticals group AstraZeneca has announced that it was buying the Boston-based US biotech company Alexion. The takeover will enable the British group to expand its footprint and become a major global player in the field of immunology.

The deal was finalised for 39 billion US dollars, making it the biggest deal in the pharmaceutical sector. AstraZeneca is in the process of finalising a vaccine against Covid-19 which is expected to become the fulcrum of the British government's vaccination drive in its fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.

"Alexion has established itself as a leader in complement biology, brining life-changing benefits to patients with rare diseases," Pascal So riot, chief executive of AstraZeneca said in a statement.

The cash-and-stock deal that valued Alexion at $175 a share, which is premium of 45 per cent above the market value of the share, as been approved by boards of both companies.

The deal is expected to give a boost to AstraZeneca's bid to play a big role in treating blood-related disorders. Since taking over as the chief executive of AstraZeneca, So riot has led the British pharmaceutical group into financially beneficial like cancer therapies.

"This transaction marks the start of an exciting new chapter for Alexion," Ludwig Hantson, chief executive of Alexion said.

The takeover is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021. The deal is a win-win for all – AstraZeneca gets into another lucrative sector, Alexion a whopping sum of 39 billion dollars while Alexion shareholders will now own 15 per cent of the combined company.

AstraZeneca has already become the first company to publish its final-stage clinical trial date in a scientific journal, clearing a major impediment before starting mass production of its Covid-19 vaccine that it has developed with researchers from Oxford University. British authorities had held back the requisite permission for mass production and inoculation over some queries which now have been answered through the final-stage clinical trial results.