Sanofi to acquire Ablynx in €3.9B deal

Sanofi (Euronext:SAN; NYSE:SNY) said it will acquire Nanobodies company Ablynx N.V. (Euronext:ABLX; NASDAQ:ABLX) for €45 per share in cash, or about €3.9 billion ($4.8 billion). The price is a 21% premium to Ablynx's close of €37.12 on Jan. 26, before the deal was announced, and a 48% premium to the €30.50 per share offered by Novo Nordisk A/S (CSE:NOVOB; NYSE:NVO) in its most recent unsolicited offer (see BioCentury, Jan. 12).

In a statement on Jan. 29, Novo said it will not make a revised bid for Ablynx...