Sanofi offers to acquire Medivation for £6.4bn

Sanofi today announced that it has sent a letter to Medivation, in which it makes a proposal to acquire Medivation for £36.09 ($52.50) per share, which would represent an all-cash transaction valued at approximately £6.4bn ($9.3bn)

The proposed purchase price represents a premium of over 50% to Medivation's two-month volume weighted average price (VWAP) prior to there being takeover rumours, according to Sanofi.

The letter from Sanofi said: “We are excited by the prospect of accelerating Medivation's growth by leveraging Sanofi's infrastructure and capabilities. We are convinced that Medivation's employees would find a very attractive environment within our Sanofi Genzyme specialty business unit and our R&D organisation, giving them the opportunity to fully develop their skills and help bring new treatments to patients on a worldwide basis. “

Medivation, is a biopharmaceutical company with one marketed prostate cancer therapy, Xtandi and two additional oncology assets in clinical development. Sanofi has a significant presence in prostate cancer and a strong heritage in oncology.

The transaction would create a company with a range of offerings to treat prostate cancer across the continuum of care, from urologists to oncologists, according to Sanofi.

Sanofi’s, chief executive officer, Olivier Brandicourt "Last November, Sanofi outlined our mid-term strategy which includes rebuilding our position in oncology, one of the largest and fastest growing therapeutic areas in the biopharmaceutical sector.

"With Medivation's best-in-class offerings in prostate cancer, we believe a combination would benefit patients and, at the same time, generate value for shareholders of both companies."