Merck & Co. (MRK) plans to complete its $430 million
acquisition of Inspire Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ISPH) on Monday after
its tender offer for the target's shares got a warm reception from
investors.
When the companies unveiled the $5-a-share cash deal last month,
both boards approved it and a fund managed by private-eqity firm
Warburg Pincus LCC that owned a 28% stake in Inspire agreed to
tender its shares.
The deal represented a 26% premium when it was announced, but
was still well below Inspire's stock's peak of $8.74 in December,
shortly before its release of negative clinical data for an
experimental cystic fibrosis drug sent shares tumbling. In the wake
of the setback, Inspire cut 27% of its work force and sharpened its
focus on its eye-care business.
Merck said Friday that about 75% of Inspire's shares had been
tendered when the offer expired at midnight Thursday.
The deal represents a modest-sized bet on the opthamology market
for the pharmaceutical giant, which in March said it applied for
approval to market a glaucoma treatment in the U.S.
Merck's shares dipped 0.2% to $37.13 in recent premarket
trading.
-By Matt Jarzemsky, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2240; matthew.jarzemsky@dowjones.com