Japanese Pharma Acquries Atlanta Drugmaker For $1.4B To Expand In U.S. Markets

September 1, 2008 2:21 p.m. EST

Atlanta, GA (AHN) - Japanese drug maker Shionogi & Co. announced Monday that it will buy American pharmaceutical Sciele Pharma Inc. for $1.4 billion in cash to expand its presence in the U.S. market.

Shionogi will pay $31 for every Sciele share, a 61 percent premium to the Atlanta-based pharma's closing price of $19.27 last Friday.

Sciele will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shionogi. The boards of the two companies approved the acquisition.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. advised Shionogi and UBS AG for Sciele.

Bloomberg revealed that Wells Capital Management Inc., Morgan Stanley and Vanguard Group Inc. are the biggest shareholders of Sciele Pharma.

Meanwhile, Wellington Management Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. are the top holders of Shionogi.