Horizon to buy rival pharmaceutical for €1bn

Dublin-headquartered Horizon pharmaceutical has agreed to buy Hyperion Therapeutics for $1.1bn (€1bn) to gain drugs to treat rare metabolic diseases, adding to this year’s surge in pharmaceutical- industry takeovers.

Horizon will offer Hyperion holders $46 a share in cash, the companies said yesterday. That amounts to 7.6% above Friday’s closing level and about 35% above the average price for the past two months.

The deal will give Horizon two drugs to treat urea cycle disorders, inherited ailments that can cause a build-up of ammonia in the body. Horizon moved its corporate address from Deerfield Illinois to Dublin last year in order to lower its tax bill. It makes products to treat arthritis, inflammation and rare illnesses. Shares of Hyperion, based in Brisbane, California, have soared 78% this year, in part because of takeover speculation.