NEW YORK: Investment firm All Blue Capital has approached Zymeworks Inc, a developer of antibody therapies for cancer, with a $773 million acquisition offer.
In a regulatory filing late on Thursday, All Blue said it had made a non-binding offer for $10.50 per share in cash, which represents a 116% premium to Wednesday’s closing price of $4.86.
There is no certainty that Zymeworks will negotiate a deal, people familiar with the matter said. The company unsuccessfully engaged with potential buyers last year, the sources added, requesting anonymity.
“Received an unsolicited, non-binding proposal from All Blue Falcons FZE and its affiliates to purchase the company for $10.50 per share in cash,” Zymeworks said in a statement, adding that its board of directors will carefully review the proposal.
Shares of Zymeworks jumped by more than 45% in after-market trade on Thursday after Reuters reported the bid. In the filing, All Blue said it is currently in talks with potential co-investors and financing partners for the proposed acquisition.
Vancouver, Canada-based Zymeworks develops antibody treatments for different types of cancer and is currently working on clinical trials for a number of its products.
It has repeatedly missed earnings estimates over the past few quarters and its shares have lost about 84% of their market value over the past 12 months.
“We believe that the company has suffered from severe value erosion due to a number of serious missteps by an unfocused leadership with no clear strategy for improving performance,” All Blue said in a letter to the company’s board of directors on Thursday.
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