Merz to acquire all shares of BioForm Medical for $5.45 per share
Merz Pharma Group (Merz) and BioForm Medical have approved a definitive agreement under which Merz will acquire all of the shares of BioForm Medical for $5.45 per share in cash, pursuant to a cash tender offer followed by a second-step merger. The transaction has a total equity value of approximately $253m based on BioForm Medical’s outstanding shares of common stock.
The $5.45 per share cash purchase price represents a premium of 55% over BioForm Medical’s 30-day average closing stock price, and a premium of 60% over the closing price of BioForm Medical’s common stock on December 31, 2009, the last trading day prior to announcement, said the company.
The transaction advances Merz’s strategy of becoming a major player in aesthetic medicine, a fast growing, multi-billion dollar global market. BioForm Medical is a major player in the dermal filler market in the US and Europe with its product, RADIESSE dermal filler.
Following completion of the transaction, BioForm Medical will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merz and will be renamed as Merz Aesthetics. With BioForm Medical, the new Merz Aesthetics will be distinguished in the marketplace by its ability to offer dermal fillers based on three distinct technologies like RADIESSE dermal filler, Belotero and Novabel, said the company.
Accordingly, with this broader dermal filler product offering and other aesthetics products under development (including Polidocanol, a sclerotherapy agent, and Bocouture/XEOMIN, a neurotoxin free of complexing protein), the combined company will be well positioned to cater to this market.