LONDON — Seeking to build up its pharma business, the Japanese conglomerate Asahi Kasei is moving to buy Swedish biotech Calliditas Therapeutics in a nearly $1.1 billion cash deal, the companies said Tuesday.
The firm’s offer of $19.68 per share amounts to an 83% premium versus Calliditas’ closing price on a Swedish exchange Monday. The Calliditas board has unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the offer, the company said, adding that it “aims to realize the benefits of being part of a larger platform” by being acquired.
Calliditas has an approved drug on the U.S. market called Tarpeyo, which treats a kidney disease called IgA nephropathy. The condition has in recent years attracted interest from a number of pharma companies.
