Sanofi & Ablynx announce success of initial tender offer

Biopharmaceutical companies, Sanofi and Ablynx, have announced the successful results of the initial tender offer period for Sanofi to acquire outstanding shares of Ablynx.

The tender offer, which was made earlier this year, is comprised of two separate but concurrent offers: (i) a tender offer under the laws of Belgium for all of the outstanding shares, warrants and convertible bonds of Ablynx and; (ii) a tender offer under the law of the US for all of the outstanding shares held by US holders and ADSs held by holders, wherever located.

Sanofi confirmed that, as of the expiration of the initial acceptance period, which expired on 4 May 2018, a total of 71,972,994 shares (including 7,446,312 shares represented by ADSs), 2,594,841 warrants and 975 convertible bonds had been validly tendered into the offers and not withdrawn. Sanofi will own 95.60% of the outstanding shares of Ablynx on the settlement date of the offers, of which more than 90% were acquired through the offers.

“We are pleased to officially welcome Ablynx to Sanofi, which will advance the strategic transformation of our R&D, expanding our late-stage pipeline and strengthening our platform for growth in rare blood disorders,” commented Sanofi's chief executive officer, Olivier Brandicourt. “Today's announcement represents the evolution of an already successful partnership as we reaffirm our commitment to Belgium, where we have invested significantly over the years.”

“We very much look forward to joining the Sanofi family and together bring multiple Nanobody-based medicines to patients in the future,” stated Ablynx’s chief executive officer, Edwin Moses. “Over the last 17 years, we have built a very passionate world-class team in Ghent dedicated to developing the Nanobody platform and we believe that together with Sanofi's impressive skills, capabilities and resources, we will make a significant impact on improving healthcare in the future.”

Sanofi further confirmed that the Minimum Tender Condition and the other conditions to the Offers have been satisfied.