Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. will complete its purchase of diabetes drug maker Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. Wednesday.
The New York drugmaker said it completed its tender offer for Amylin shares Wednesday, and 140.6 million shares of Amylin were tendered and not withdrawn. That gave Bristol-Myers an 85.6 percent stake in Amylin, and it is exercising its right to buy the rest of the stock and close the merger.
Bristol-Myers agreed to buy Amylin July 1 for about $5 billion in cash, or $31 per share. Amylin’s products include the diabetes drugs Byetta, Bydureon, and Symlin. Byetta is taken twice a day, and Bydureon is a newer version that only needs to be taken once a week. After the deal closes, Bristol-Myers Squibb will enter a marketing partnership with British competitor AstraZeneca PLC, which will pay Bristol-Myers $3.4 billion, and the companies will develop and market Amylin’s drugs.
Bristol-Myers makes the diabetes pill Onglyza and the psychiatric drug Abilify. It also markets the blood thinner Plavix through a partnership with French drugmaker Sanofi. Plavix is the second-best selling drug in the world, but it lost U.S. patent protection in May.
Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb lost 46 cents to $32.08 in afternoon trading. Shares of San Diego-based Amylin stock were unchanged at $31. The stock will cease trading after the deal closes.