Germany's Merck KGaA in $3.9 billion deal to buy US biotech firm SpringWorks

By Ludwig Burger

FRANKFURT, April 28 (REUTERS) - German healthcare and materials group Merck KGaA MRCG.DE has struck a deal, it said on Monday, to acquire U.S. biotech company SpringWorks Therapeutics SWTX.O for an equity value of $3.9 billion to boost its cancer drug business.

The company based in Darmstadt, Germany, said the purchase price of $47 per share in cash represents an equity value of about $3.9 billion, equivalent to an enterprise value of $3.4 billion (3.0 billion euros), when SpringWorks’ cash holdings are deducted.

Family-controlled Merck said last week the two companies were in late-stage discussions over a bid of around $47 per SpringWorks share.

It will be funded with available cash and new debt and is expected to be accretive to Merck’s earnings per share, adjusted for special items, in 2027, a statement from the German group said. It added it would still be able to pursue larger transactions.

Stamford, Connecticut-based SpringWorks, which listed its shares in New York in 2019, develops drugs to treat cancer and rare types of tumour.

It has two products on the market: Ogsiveo with 2024 sales of $172 million to treat desmoid tumours, an aggressive disease affecting soft tissue, as well as Gomekli, which was approved in February to treat NF1-PN, characterised by nerve sheath tumours.