Sun Pharma to acquire US firm for Rs 1,250 cr

Dusa shareholders will get $8 per share in cash, representing a 38% premium to Dusa's Wednesday stock close

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has announced that the company will acquire DUSA, a US-based dermatology company, in an all-cash transaction of $230 million (Rs 1,250 crore).

Under the terms of the agreement, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Sun Pharma will commence a tender offer for all of the outstanding common stock of DUSA at a price of $8 a share in cash, a 38 per cent premium to the closing price ($5.7) of DUSA’s common stock on November 7, 2012 on NASDAQ. Through this buyout, Sun Pharma is expected to reap a small pie of the $6-billion US dermatology market.

DUSA’s leading drug Levulan combination therapy is approved by FDA for treatment of non-hyperkeratotic actinic keratoses or AKs of the face or scalp. Actinic keratosis is a serious skin condition caused by excessive sun exposure which often progresses to skin cancer. Actinic keratosis is one among the most common skin diseases in the US.

Dilip Shanghvi, managing director, Sun Pharma said, “DUSA has proven technical capabilities in photodynamic skin treatments, with USFDA approved manufacturing.”