AstraZeneca to acquire CinCor Pharma in USD 1.8 billion deal

Marc de Garidel, Chief Executive Officer at CinCor, said: “We are excited about the proposed acquisition of CinCor Pharma by AstraZeneca as we believe it offers the prospect of accelerating the development timeline and expanding the breadth of benefits patients with cardiorenal diseases might obtain from baxdrostat, if approved. CinCor is committed to ensuring a smooth transition of the development responsibilities to AstraZeneca once the acquisition is consummated. Thank you to all who have played, and will continue to play, essential roles in developing and evaluating baxdrostat as a potential novel treatment for cardiorenal diseases.”

James Healy, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of CinCor’s Board of Directors and Managing Partner at Sofinnova Investments, added: “AstraZeneca’s shared commitment to addressing the unmet medical need for patients with hypertension and cardiorenal disease will accelerate CinCor’s mission to develop and deliver life-changing therapies that improve patient care. The CinCor management team has laid very important scientific and clinical groundwork for the baxdrostat program, including the successful Phase 2 BrigHtn trial that was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. On behalf of CinCor’s Board of Directors, I would like to recognize and thank the CinCor team, scientific advisors and patients for their dedication and contributions to the advancement of the development of baxdrostat.”

Under the terms of the merger agreement, AstraZeneca is obligated to initiate a tender offer by January 23, 2023 to acquire all of CinCor’s outstanding shares for a price of $26.00 per share in cash at closing plus a non-tradable contingent value right of $10.00 per share in cash payable upon a specified regulatory submission of a baxdrostat product. The upfront cash portion of the consideration represents a transaction value of approximately $1.3 billion and a 121% premium over CinCor’s closing market price on January 6, 2023. Total consideration including the contingent value right, if the milestone is achieved, would be approximately $1.8 billion and a 206% premium over CinCor’s closing market price on January 6, 2023. CinCor’s Board of Directors has unanimously approved the transaction.

The closing of the tender offer is subject to certain conditions, including the tender of shares of CinCor common stock representing at least a majority of the total number of CinCor’s outstanding shares, the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 and other customary conditions. CinCor stockholders holding approximately 44.8% of CinCor common stock have entered into a tender and support agreement with AstraZeneca, pursuant to which such stockholders have agreed, among other things, to tender 100% of their shares of CinCor common stock in the tender offer, subject to the terms and conditions of such agreement. Upon the successful completion of the tender offer, AstraZeneca’s acquisition subsidiary will be merged with and into CinCor, and any remaining shares of common stock of CinCor will be cancelled and converted into the right to receive the same merger consideration (including the contingent value right) per share payable in the tender offer. Subject to the satisfaction of the conditions in the merger agreement, the acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023.