Charles River to Buy WuXi PharmaTech
WILMINGTON, Mass. (
) --
Charles River Laboratories
(CRL) - Get Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. Report
agreed to buy
WuXi PharmaTech
(WX)
in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $1.6 billion.
"This transaction revolutionizes the contract research landscape by creating the only global contract research organization, or CRO, to offer fully integrated research and drug development services from molecule creation to first-in-human testing," said James Foster, chairman, president and CEO of Charles River, in a statement Monday.
The transaction has been approved by the boards of both companies.
Under the deal, Charles River will offer $21.25 per WuXi American depositary share. Each WuXi ADS will be exchanged for $11.25 in cash and $10 of Charles River common stock determined by an exchange ratio.
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WuXi shares closed Friday at $16.57.
Charles River said it intends to finance the cash portion of the deal with cash on hand and one or more sources of new debt financing. Charles River said it received a financing commitment for a $1.25 billion credit facility from
JPMorgan Chase
and
Bank of America
.
The merger is seen closing in the fourth quarter.
-- Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York.
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