Spark’s $4.3 Billion Takeover Still On, Says Roche
Swiss healthcare giant Roche Holding has been known to use acquisitions as an effective method of expanding its business further and the latest interest for the company has been its intention of acquiring Spark Therapeutics for a sum of $4.3 billion. However, the deal seems to be on the rocks as regulators in the United States are still going through the minutiae of the deal, and it was also voted down by the powers that be. That being said, Roche has not given up their hopes of completing the deal, and the company has now stated that the deal is still on course to be completed by the time comes along. The potential acquisition of Spark Therapeutics is strategic in nature for Roche, as the Swiss company wants to get into the gene therapy business in a big way and this acquisition will allow them to do that.
Although Roche seems confident about the completion of the deal, there are many other factors at play, and the biggest among them is the fact that the company has not been able to gain support from the majority of the shareholders at Spark. While 29.4% of the shareholders at Spark have supported the acquisition, the others have not, and without the support of the majority of shareholders, it would not be possible for the deal to go through. Roche had made an offer of $114.50 per share of Spark back in February this year, and according to a spokesperson of the company, the offer remains unchanged. The spokesperson went on to add that the anti-trust regulators in the United States are still going through the deal and it is taking more time then what was expected. However, he expressed confidence in the possibility of the deal eventually going through. He said, “The deal is not in doubt at all, and we expect it will be completed according to our guidance in the first half of 2019. There needs to be more than 50 percent of the shares to be tendered, but we believe our offer to be full and fair, and it has been recommended by the board of Spark.” Gene therapy is something that is all set to have a huge market in the years to come and could prove to be an effective cure against some of the more widespread diseases. If this acquisition is indeed completed then Roche will be in a very strong position as compared to its peers.
