Valeant Pharmaceuticals to acquire Medicis

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International and Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation have entered into a definitive agreement under which Valeant will acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Medicis for US$44.00 per share in cash. The transaction values Medicis at approximately $2.6bn and has been approved unanimously by the Boards of Directors of both companies.

The combined company's commercial dermatology operations will be located in Scottsdale, Arizona and will operate under the name Medicis, a division of Valeant, with its dermatology research and development operations in Laval, Quebec, Scottsdale, and Petaluma, California, and corporate support functions primarily based in New Jersey. The pro forma net revenue for the combined company's dermatology and aesthetics businesses for 2012 is expected to exceed $1.7bn within the US.

‘The acquisition of Medicis represents a significant next step in our journey to become the leader in dermatology by strengthening Valeant's presence in acne, actinic keratosis, aesthetic injectables and antivirals, among others,’ said Valeant Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, J Michael Pearson. ‘Medicis' highly complementary portfolio of leading branded products and promising pipeline is a solid strategic fit, and we look forward to leveraging Medicis' well known and respected name in dermatology to drive long-term growth.’

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2013, subject to customary closing conditions. The combination is expected to yield annual cost synergies of at least $225m within six months of closing.