Amgen to acquire Irish biopharma company Horizon Therapeutics for $28bn

Amgen through its wholly-owned subsidiary Pillartree has agreed to acquire Ireland-based biopharmaceutical firm Horizon Therapeutics for an enterprise value of around $28.3bn.

The US biotechnology company will pay $116.5 per share in cash, which is a premium of around 19.7% to Horizon Therapeutics’ closing stock price of $97.29 per share on 9 December 2022.

Horizon Therapeutics develops and commercializes medicines for rare, auto-immune, and inflammatory diseases.

The transaction is expected to add Horizon Therapeutics’ portfolio of medicines to Amgen’s drug portfolio as well as augment the growth potential of the former’s portfolio, which includes tepezza, uplizna, and krystexxa.

Robert A Bradway — Amgen chairman and CEO said: “Amgen’s decades of leadership in inflammation and nephrology, combined with our global presence and world-class biologics capabilities, will enable us to reach many more patients with first-in-class medicines like TEPEZZA, KRYSTEXXA and UPLIZNA.

“Additionally, the potential new medicines in Horizon’s pipeline strongly complement our own R&D portfolio.

“The acquisition of Horizon will drive growth in Amgen’s revenue and non-GAAP EPS and is expected to be accretive from 2024.”

Amgen to acquire Irish biopharma company Horizon Therapeutics for $28bn. Photo courtesy of Amgen Inc.

The transaction is expected to generate a cash flow of around $10 billion combined over twelve months through Q3 2022.

Amgen has entered into a bridge credit agreement for an aggregate amount of $28.5 billion to fund the transaction.

Tim Walbert — Horizon Therapeutics chairman, president, and CEO said: “In nearly 15 years, we have built one of the fastest growing and most respected companies in the biotechnology industry from the ground up.

“Amgen is aligned with that commitment and passion and will continue to maximise the value of the current portfolio and pipeline and accelerate the ability to reach more patients globally.”

Expected to complete in the first half of 2023, the transaction is subject to the approval of the Irish High Court and antitrust regulators in the US, Austria, and Germany.