Shares in Diurnal Group PLC (AIM:DNL) shot up 131% in early trade after its board accepted a knock-out offer from an acquisitive Californian biotech.
Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) Inc has agreed to pay £48.3mln for the UK hormone therapy group.
The 27.5p a share offered represents a 141% premium to last Friday’s closing price.
“Diurnal and Neurocrine are highly complementary businesses, and we believe that Neurocrine's financial and operational resources will substantially accelerate the development of a leading franchise in diseases of cortisol deficiency, benefiting physicians and patients globally,” said Diurnal chairman Anders Härfstrand.
"We believe that the acquisition is compelling for Diurnal's shareholders given the risks associated with achieving Diurnal's vision of creating a profitable business, in particular the ongoing commercial rollout of Diurnal's products in Europe and the execution of key clinical studies, in addition to the substantial shareholder dilution that is likely to result from accessing the capital required to deliver this vision.”
At 9.20 am, the shares were changing hands for 26.39p, up 15p.