Shire and BioChem Merge to Form Global Pharmaceutical Leader

Shire Pharmaceuticals Group plc and BioChem Pharma Inc are merging to create one of the world's leading global specialty pharmaceutical companies. The deal will be achieved through the exchange of shares, valuing BioChem at $4 billion on a fully diluted basis. The merged company will have a broadened and enhanced product portfolio, with leading positions in ADHD and HIV, and a deepened project pipeline. The combination will also create strong cash flow for reinvestment in the group's research and development strategy.

Key Takeaways:

• The merger will create a leading global specialty pharmaceutical company with a broadened and enhanced product portfolio, including leading positions in ADHD and HIV.
• The combined company will have a deepened project pipeline, with BioChem's early-stage projects complementing those at a later stage in Shire.
• The merger will bring together complementary strengths of the two companies, providing exciting future opportunities to market BioChem's development-stage projects through Shire's direct sales infrastructure.
• The enlarged group is expected to be accretive to Shire's earnings in the first full year after the merger.
• The combined unaudited pro forma revenues for the year ended Dec 1999 will be $587 million.
• Shire has a strategic focus on four therapeutic areas: central nervous system disorders, metabolic diseases, oncology, and gastroenterology.
• BioChem has a focus on infectious diseases and cancer.

Statistics:

• The merger will value BioChem at $4 billion on a fully diluted basis.
• The combined unaudited pro forma revenues for the year ended Dec 1999 will be $587 million.
• The merger is expected to close in 2Q 2001.
• The enlarged group will have a combined unaudited pro forma revenue of $587 million for the year ended Dec 1999.

Sources:

• Shire Pharmaceuticals Group plc
• BioChem Pharma Inc
• (BioChem Pharma Inc's website)
• (Source: Shire and BioChem Pharma Inc press release)