Merck KGaA to buy Silence Therapeutics for $1.3B in cash
What's the deal? Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, GermanyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has agreed to acquire UK-based Silence TherapeuticsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in an all-cash deal with an equity value of about $1.3 billion and an enterprise value of $1.1 billion. Shareholders will receive $20.00 per American Depositary Share, a 130% premium to Silence's October 16, 2026 closing price.
What each side brings: Silence develops precision medicines using its siRNA technology, which silences disease-linked genes. Merck gains that pipeline, led by divesiran, its treatment for the blood disorder polycythemia vera.
Why now? The deal follows Silence's August Phase 2 result for divesiran, in which 88% of treated patients met the trial's response definition versus 19% on placebo. Interim chief executive Iain Ross called it "potentially best-in-class" data and said the sale followed "a competitive sale process."
What's the endgame? Merck wants scale behind divesiran ahead of pivotal testing. The acquisition places the drug "with a company that has the scale, resources and commercial capabilities to accelerate its Phase 3 development," Ross said. That Phase 3 trial is not expected to start until the first half of 2027.
By the numbers: The $20.00 ADS price also marks an 82% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average of $10.99. Securityholders representing roughly 14% of Silence's voting power have agreed to back the deal.
What could go wrong? The August result came from a small study of 48 patients, and divesiran still faces pivotal testing. For Merck, the deal buys an early-stage asset before that risk is resolved; for Silence investors, it removes it in exchange for an immediate premium.
The transaction will proceed via a UK scheme of arrangement and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to shareholder approval, court sanction, and regulatory clearances.
The signal: Merck is reshaping its pipeline toward rare and specialty diseases through dealmaking. Chairman and group chief executive Kai Beckmann tied the move to last year's SpringWorks Therapeutics purchase, saying Merck continues to "transform our pipeline toward areas of high specialization and unmet medical need."
Read more: marketscreener.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
