Swedish drugmaker SOBI soars on $8 bln bid from Advent and Aurora (updated)

Investor AB

02/09/2021 09:11

(Adds detail, updates shares)
    By Helena Soderpalm
    STOCKHOLM, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Swedish Orphan Biovitrum
(SOBI)  SOBIV.ST  said on Thursday it had received a bid from
U.S. private equity firm Advent International and Aurora
Investment valuing the rare disease drugmaker at about 69.4
billion Swedish crowns ($8 billion).
    SOBI's stock, already up 15% so far this year, rose 24.6% to
239 crowns after news of the 235 Swedish crowns per share offer,
which SOBI said represented a premium of about 34.5% to its Aug.
25 closing price of 174.70 crowns on Nasdaq Stockholm.
    Investor AB  INVEb.ST  and Fjärde AP-Fonden, with SOBI
stakes of about 36.45% and 6.96% respectively, have separately
agreed to accept the offer, SOBI said, adding that its board had
unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the offer from
Advent and Aurora, an affiliate of capital markets group GIC.
    SOBI, which sells drugs within haemophilia, autoimmune
diseases, metabolic diseases and cancer supportive care, added
that Danske Bank had said the offer was "fair to SOBI's
shareholders from a financial point of view".
    "The board believes that the terms of the offer recognise
SOBI's long-term growth prospects, as well as the risks
associated with those prospects, and provide certainty, in cash,
to shareholders," SOBI said in a statement.
    SOBI shares rose as much as 22% on Aug. 26, after Bloomberg
reported that Advent was considering a bid.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2PX4RD
    During the pandemic, SOBI, which employs around 1,500 people
worldwide and had revenues of 15.3 billion Swedish crowns in
2020, has suffered from weakened demand for its drugs as
healthcare has focused on COVID-19.
    Europe's medicines regulator is evaluating SOBI's arthritis
drug Kineret, with the active substance anakinra, for the
treatment of COVID-19 in adults with pneumonia who are at risk
of severe respiratory failure.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2OV1XA
($1=8.6178 Swedish crowns)  

 (Reporting by Helena Soderpalm; Editing by Clarence Fernandez
and Alexander Smith)
 ((helena.soderpalm@thomsonreuters.com; +46 8 700 10 15; Reuters
Messaging: helena.soderpalm.reuters.com@reuters.net))