AbbVie to acquire onclology drugmaker Pharmacyclics for $21 bn

AbbVie said on Wednesday that it plans to acquire Pharmacyclics, the California-based biopharmaceutical company, at a total value of $21 billion.

AbbVie will pay $261.25 per share for the company, with 58 per cent, or $12.18 billion, in cash and the rest in equity.

The takeover will give AbbVie access to one of the world's top-selling drug to fight blood cancer, Imbruvica, which is expected to generate $1 billion in revenue this year.

AbbVie was spun off by Abbott Laboratories in 2013. Its cash cow, Humira, used for rheumatoid arthritis, has raked in revenue of $12.5 billion last year. It will go off patent in 2016.

Meanwhile, the global market for blood cancer treatments is rapidly growing, expected to approach $24 billion.

There were reports that Johnson & Johnson, a longtime partner in developing Imbruvica, was close to buying Pharmacyclics.

''The acquisition of Pharmacyclics is a strategically compelling opportunity,''' Richard Gonzalez, chairman and chief executive officer of AbbVie said in a statement, adding that Pharmacyclics' talented and innovative team will add enormous value to AbbVie.

''Imbruvica is not only complementary to AbbVie's oncology pipeline, it has demonstrated strong clinical efficacy across a broad range of hematologic malignancies,'' he added.

A few months back, Abbvie has reached an agreement with Shire Plc to terminate their proposed $55 billion merger after the US authorities tightened tax rules (See more at:AbbVie calls off $55-bn acquisition of Shire over US tax rules )

The acquisition is the latest in a spate of big pharma deals this year as many companies are strengthening their portfolios as old drugs go generic.

Last month, Pfizer Inc agreed to buy Hospira Inc  for about $15 billion, and Canada's Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc  agreed to buy Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd for about $10 billion.

Last November, Bloomberg reported that Actavis Plc is in talks with Allergan for $60 billion (See more at: Actavis in talks to buy US Botox maker Allergan for around $60 billion: report)

Pharmacyclics had total revenue of $729.7 million in 2014, while AbbVie's 2014 sales were at $19.96 billion.

The deal is expected to close in the middle of the year, AbbVie said.