After U.S. markets closed for trading yesterday afternoon, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Urovant Sciences Ltd. (UROV:NASDAQ), which is engaged in the development and commercialization of therapies for urologic conditions, announced that it entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Sumitovant Biopharma in a transaction valued at approximately $584 million based up an offer price of $16.25 per share in cash.
The firm noted that Sumitovant is currently its largest shareholder with approximately 72% equity ownership of the company. The company stated that the $16.25 per share offer price equates to a 92% premium over the 30-day volume weighted average share price on November 12, 2020.
Urovant Sciences advised that the acquisition bid has already been unanimously approved by each company's board of directors and is expected to close in Q1/21 subject to approval by a majority of minority shareholders.
Pierre Legault, lead independent member of Urovant's Board of Directors and chairman of the special committee, remarked, "After careful consideration and consultation with our financial advisors, the special committee of the Urovant Board of Directors has found that Sumitovant's offer represents exceptional value for shareholders."
Urovant Sciences' President and CEO James Robinson commented, "Our business is growing, and we remain focused on the potential opportunity to launch vibegron in 2021, pending FDA approval...Sumitovant is our largest investor, and we have been partnering closely with them on plans to efficiently launch vibegron and achieve scale as quickly as possible. We believe that this investment represents a vote of confidence in Urovant's future success and will put us in an even stronger position to bring vibegron to market as a new treatment option for patients with overactive bladder and to continue advancing our promising development pipeline."
The firm stated that after the transaction is fully approved and finalized, Urovant will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitovant and will continue to be based in Irvine, Calif.
The company pointed out that it is still expecting U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) action on its New Drug Application submission for vibegron in the U.S. by December 26, 2020.
Urovant Sciences specializes in creating commercializing innovative therapies for urologic conditions. The company' lead product candidate is vibegron, "an oral, once-daily small molecule beta-3 agonist that is being evaluated for overactive bladder." The firm advised that it submitted a New Drug Application to the FDA in December 2019 to seek approval of vibegron in treating OAB patients.
Sumitovant Biopharma is a global biopharmaceutical firm that is owned 100% by Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, which is among the top-10 listed pharmaceutical companies in Japan. In addition to its Urovant holdings, Sumitovant is the majority shareholder of Myovant Sciences and wholly owns Enzyvant Therapeutics, Spirovant Sciences and Altavant Sciences.
Urovant Sciences started off the day with a market capitalization of around $262.1 million with approximately 31.66 million shares outstanding and a short interest of about 2.8%. UROV shares opened 93% higher today on the news at $15.98 (+$7.70, +93.00%) over yesterday's $8.28 closing price and reached a new 52-week high price this morning of $16.08. The stock has traded in a very tight range today between $15.98 and $16.08 per share and is closed at $16.02 (+$7.74, +93.48%).
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