
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot (File photo, AP)
In an end-of-year surprise, AstraZeneca nabs rare disease stalwart Alexion in $39B buyout. But why?
After spending the past 8 years scripting a turnaround that would make AstraZeneca $AZN a reliable growth story and global performer in oncology, CEO Pascal Soriot has bought out Alexion $ALXN, a mid-sized biotech that helped make rare diseases trendy.
Investors at Alexion are getting $175 a share — $60 in cash and the rest in company stock — making this a $39 billion buyout. That qualifies as the biggest M&A deal of 2020 in biopharma, a year in which easy bolt-ons have dominated.
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