Novartis AG said Monday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire clinical-stage gene therapy group AveXis Inc. for $8.7 billion in cash, or $218 per share.
Novartis, a Swiss-based pharmaceutical group, said the deal has been unanimously approved by the boards of both companies.
In acquiring AveXis, Novartis said it hopes to expand its role as a leader in gene therapy and neuroscience. Assuming completion by the middle of this year, the Swiss group said the deal would be slightly negative to its core operating income in 2018 and 2019, mainly due to research and development investments. But by 2020, Novartis expects the acquisition to “strongly contribute” to core operating income and earnings per share owing to an expected boost in sales.
By Barbara Kollmeyer
Source: MarketWatch
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