Roche has agreed to buy InterMune, a US biotech company, for $8.3bn in the latest example of the feverish deal activity sweeping the pharmaceuticals sector.
The all-cash transaction – Roche’s biggest acquisition for five years – will give the Swiss group access to InterMune’s new medicine for a previously untreatable lung disease, highlighting the push by big pharma into so-called orphan drugs for rare or incurable conditions.
The agreed deal is Roche’s biggest since its $47bn takeover of Genentech, another US biotech company, in 2009 and marks its fourth acquisition this year as the group responds to investor pressure to put more of its cash to use. The $74-a-share offer represents a 63 per cent premium over InterMune’s share price before takeover speculation arose in mid August, highlighting the hefty valuations being attracted by target companies as drugmakers compete for assets.