Galapagos Obtains 77 Percent of BioFocus as Part of Acquisition; Balance Due in Coming Weeks

NEW YORK, Oct. 13 (GenomeWeb News) - Dutch biotech Galapagos has acquired around 77 percent of BioFocus as part of its deal to buy the company, and will obtain the remaining 24 percent over the coming weeks, a Galapagos official said today.

Galapagos announced in late September that it would acquire all of the outstanding shares of the British drug maker by Oct. 12. Still, with its 77-percent stake in hand so far, Galapagos will now unconditionally acquire the company and will begin combining the two firms. Galapagos generated ₤20 million ($23.9 million) in 2004. Both companies generated around ₤28 million in combined 2004 revenues, Galapagos CEO Onno van de Stolpe told GenomeWeb News today.

Van de Stolpe said that his company has so far acquired around 12.6 million BioFocus shares, or 76.9 percent of the shares outstanding, at an exchange rate of €.225 per Galapagos share for each BioFocus share.

Terms of the ₤20.2 million ($36.5 million) acquisition call for BioFocus to become part of the Galapagos group with a 30-percent stake in the combined firm.

Onno van de Stolpe said in a statement last month that the acquisition is expected to enhance the company's position in the drug discovery market.

"We are truly impressed by their drug discovery capabilities [and] we believe that these will greatly accelerate our programs in bone and joint diseases," van de Stolpe said at the time.