Asahi Kasei proposes $1.1 billion acquisition of Calliditas Therapeutics

Asahi Kasei (OTCPK: AHKSY) (OTCPK: AHKSF), a Japanese conglomerate, proposed on Tuesday to acquire Swedish biopharmaceutical company Caliditas Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CALT) for $1.1 billion.

Asahi Kasei (OTCPK: AHKSY) (OTCPK: AHKSF) proposed to acquire all shares of CALT (CALT) in cash of 208 SEK per share. We also announced a simultaneous proposal to purchase all American Depositary Shares equivalent to 2 CALT shares per share in cash of SEK 416 per ADS.

The total price of the offer equals 11.16B SEK. This offer is equivalent to an 83% premium compared to the closing price of Nasdaq Stockholm shares on May 27, 2024.

Caliditas (CALT), headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, initially focused on kidney and liver diseases and is developing a pipeline of novel medicines to address various orphan indications.

CALT (CALT) has welcomed Asahi Kasei as its new strategic owner and aims to realize the advantages of being part of a larger platform and the potential opportunity to accelerate revenue growth trajectory and pipeline development.

The offer acceptance period will begin around July 18, 2024 and will end around August 30, 2024, unless extended.

Completion of the acquisition is subject, above all, to customary conditions which include Asahi Kasei becoming the owner of 90% or more of Cariditas shares (on a completely diluted basis) and obtaining approval from all necessary regulators.

In response to this news, the ADR of NASDAQ listed Cariditas (CALT) rose by about 70% before the market.