Botox maker Allergan said it would buy body-contouring product maker Zeltiq Aesthetics for about $2.48 billion (€2.34 billion), adding muscle to its line-up of products used to fight fat and smoothen wrinkles.
Zeltiq’s CoolSculpting System is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and utilises a cooling mechanism to reduce the appearance of stubborn fat – which may not respond to diet or exercise – without disturbing surrounding tissue.
The Botox maker agreed to pay $56.50 per Zeltiq share, or a premium of 14.4 per cent to the company’s Friday close.
Zeltiq’s shares jumped 12.6 per cent to $55.65 in premarket trading on Monday.
Dublin-based Allergan, led by its acquisitive chief executive Brent Saunders, has orchestrated a flurry of deals since its $160 billion merger with Pfizer collapsed in April.
Earlier this month, Mr Saunders painted lofty expectations for its injection Kybella – used to diminish fat under the chin, leaving surrounding tissue largely unaffected – for 2017, and expressed an interest in continued deal-making.
In the three months ending December 31st, total medical aesthetic product sales accounted for 28 per cent of Allergan’s net revenue.
Allergan, which estimates that body contouring is a $4 billion market, said the transaction is expected to close in the second quarter. – (Reuters)
