Johnson & Johnson to buy Momenta Pharmaceuticals for $6.5 billion

Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $6.5 billion in cash to acquire Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc., a maker of autoimmune-disease drugs, in the largest pharmaceutical-industry merger this year.
 

Though the price tag falls short of some of the industry-shifting takeovers of recent years, the deal is the latest sign drug companies are looking for ways to bulk up even as the coronavirus pandemic upends other businesses.
 

At $52.50 a share, the deal represents a premium of more than 70% to Momenta’s closing price Tuesday of $30.81. The biotechnology company had seen its shares surge 56% this year after encouraging clinical-trial data