Lantheus Holdings Inc., the parent company of Lantheus Medical Imaging Inc., agreed to acquire New York-based biotech company Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc. in an all-share transaction.
Under the agreement, North Billerica, Mass.-based Lantheus will issue 0.2502 shares for each share of Progenics held by its shareholders. Upon completion, Progenics' stockholders will own about 35% of the combined company.
Progenics, which develops and commercializes drugs and technologies for treating and diagnosing cancer, owns three U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved products. The company is locked in a dispute with asset management firm Velan Capital LP, which filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in September to oust several members of Progenics' board. Velan owns about 10% of Progenics.
The directors of both companies have approved the transaction. Lantheus, which develops and sells diagnostic medical imaging agents used in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular and other diseases, expects to complete the deal in the first quarter of 2020, subject to closing conditions including shareholder and regulatory approvals.
The combined company will be based in North Billerica and will continue to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LNTH. Lantheus President and CEO Mary Anne Heino will lead the combined company.
SVB Leerink LLC and White & Case LLP are financial and legal advisers to Lantheus, respectively. Jefferies LLC is Progenics' financial adviser while O'Melveny & Myers LLP is the legal counsel.
