Roche seals deal for Genentech at $95 a share

After eight months of bickering, Roche finally agreed to pay Genentech shareholders $46.8 billion--or $95 a share--for the 44 percent of the biotech giant it doesn't already own. And a special committee at Genentech has signed off on the deal and recommended it to shareholders.

"We believe this is a fair offer for Genentech shareholders, and the committee is pleased to come to a successful conclusion of this process," said Genentech in a statement. "We look forward to working with Roche to complete the transaction as expeditiously as possible."

To make sure they get full value for the deal, Roche plans to allow Genentech a considerable level of independence inside the pharma giant's global operations. Once the buyout is completed, Roche says that research and early development will remain "as an independent center within Roche from Genentech's existing base in South San Francisco, retaining its talent and approach to discovering and progressing new molecules."

This is the third big tie-up in the biopharma world, with Merck acquiring Schering-Plough and Pfizer buying Wyeth. Analysts widely expect that there's also plenty of M&A activity in the months ahead as the drug industry undergoes a worldwide shakeout.

- see Genentech's statement
- read the report from the New York Times

ALSO: Big Pharma is getting a super-sized makeover as the giants combine into even larger global corporations. But analysts don't view every merger in the same light. Report

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