Innoviva To Acquire La Jolla Pharma In $149 Mln Deal

(RTTNews) - Innoviva Inc. (INVA) agreed to acquire La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co. (LJPC). It will pay $5.95 per share for La Jolla, representing a premium of approximately 70% to the 30-day volume-weighted average price, and an incremental $0.28 per share for additional cash proceeds received in connection with the divestiture of a non-core asset.

As per the terms of the merger agreement, Innoviva will commence a tender offer on or before July 25, 2022 to acquire all of the outstanding shares of La Jolla for $6.23 per share in cash, or an implied enterprise value of approximately $149 million.

On closing, La Jolla will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Innoviva, and shares of La Jolla's common stock will no longer be listed on any public market.

The transaction is expected to close within 30 business days. Additionally, certain La Jolla stockholders holding approximately 40% of La Jolla's outstanding shares of common stock, have signed a support agreement under which such stockholders agreed, among other things, to tender their shares in the tender offer and support the merger.

La Jolla's lead product, GIAPREZA (angiotensin II), was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in December 2017 to increase blood pressure in adults with septic or other distributive shock. La Jolla's second asset, XERAVA (eravacycline), was approved by the FDA in August 2018 for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections in patients 18 years of age and older.