Relypsa (RLYP) Stock Surging on $1.5 Billion Acquisition by Galencia

Relypsa (RLYP) stock is up in early morning trading on Thursday after Galenica agreed to purchase the biotech for $1.53 billion.
By Annie Palmer ,

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Relypsa (RLYP) are spiking by 58.79% to $31.92 in early morning trading on Thursday, after Galenica agreed to buy the Redwood City, CA-based biotech for $1.53 billion. 

The Swedish pharmacy network operator will pay $32 per share in cash for Relypsa, beefing up Galencia's Vifor Pharma unit before the company splits into two separate entities in 2017.

The merger will give Galencia access to Relypsa's Veltassa drug, which treats high levels of potassium in the blood, and strengthen its presence in the U.S. drug market. 

"The combination of Vifor Pharma and Relypsa is an important step towards achieving our goal of building a world-leading specialty pharmaceutical company focused on nephrology, cardiology and gastroenterology medicines," Etienne Jornod, Galencia's executive chairman, said in a statement.

Relypsa expects the acquisition to close in the fiscal 2016 third quarter, at which point Relypsa will be delisted and integrated into Vifor Pharma from then on. 

RLYP data by YCharts

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