(Reuters) -Halozyme Therapeutics said on Thursday it has proposed to buy German drug developer Evotec for about 2 billion euros ($2.10 billion), to bulk up its drug discovery and development portfolio.
Halozyme intends to purchase all the shares of Evotec at 11 euros per share, which represents a premium of 27.5% to Evotec’s last close price.
U.S.-listed shares of Evotec were up 6.3%, while those of Halozyme were down 5.1% in aftermarket trade.
Earlier this week private equity firm Triton was also reportedly exploring a potential buyout of Evotec, after it confirmed a close to 10% stake in the company.
Evotec’s other major shareholders are Novo Nordisk parent Novo Holdings and Mubadala Investment.
“The combination of Halozyme and Evotec would diversify and extend Halozyme revenue and EBITDA growth and durability well into the next decade and beyond,” said Helen Torley, chief executive officer of Halozyme.
Evotec’s shares have fallen about 60% this year as revenues continue to slump due to weakness in the clinical research organization business market environment.
The company collaborates with biotech companies through research alliances and partnerships to help with drug development.
Halozyme’s plan to acquire Evotec was first reported by Bloomberg News earlier on Thursday.
($1 = 0.9504 euros)
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
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