Merck Statement On Cubicin Patent Litigation; Cubist Deal To Proceed As Planned

(RTTNews) - Healthcare giant Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) issued a statement regarding the decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. The decision upheld the patent for Cubicin that expires on June 15, 2016 and invalidated four others.

The company said it continues to believe the acquisition of Cubist will create strong fundamental value for Merck's shareholders. The combined strength of both companies will provide both incremental and long-term value, and Merck expects the transaction to add more than $1 billion of revenue to its 2015 base, with strong growth potential thereafter.

According to the company, the court's decision does not change Merck's expectation that the transaction will be neutral to modestly accretive to 2015 non-GAAP earnings per share.

The company also continues to expect that the transaction will contribute mid-single digit accretion on a percentage basis to non-GAAP earnings per share in 2016, and will continue to be accretive thereafter.

On Monday, Merck & Co. said it agreed to acquire biotechnology company Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CBST) for an equity value of $8.4 billion. Including $1.1 billion in net debt based on projected cash balances, the total transaction value is about $9.5 billion.