Mallinckrodt to buy Sucampo for about $840 million

Chris Goodney | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Mark Trudeau, chief executive officer of Mallinckrodt Plc

Drugmaker Mallinckrodt said on Tuesday it would buy Sucampo Pharmaceuticals for about $840 million, excluding debt, to gain access to its constipation drug, Amitiza.

Mallinckrodt said it offered $18 per Sucampo share held, representing a premium of about 6 percent to the stock’s Friday close.

The stock has gained about 14 percent since Dec. 6, a day before Bloomberg reported that Sucampo was considering selling itself after receiving takeover interest.

Sucampo’s shares rose 5 percent before the bell.

The equity value of the deal is based on 46.64 million outstanding Sucampo shares as per Thomson Reuters data. Including debt, the deal is valued at about $1.2 billion, the companies said.

Mallinckrodt said it expects to fund the deal through borrowings under an existing revolving credit facility, a new secured term loan facility and cash on hand.

Assuming the deal closes by the first quarter of 2018, Mallinckrodt said it expects an addition of at least 30 cents per share to its 2018 adjusted earnings and at least double that amount in 2019.

Sucampo reported strong revenue growth in the latest quarter, driven by sales of Amitiza, and the company raised its full-year revenue forecast.

Deutsche Bank was Mallinckrodt’s financial adviser and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz its legal adviser.