On March 28, 2022 Acacia Pharma Group PLC reported that proposed Transaction with Eagle Pharmaceuticals PLC (Press release, Acacia Pharma, MAR 28, 2022, View Source [SID1234611029])
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Key highlights
Acacia Pharma Group PLC ("Acacia") met its formulary goals for both Barhemsys and Byfavo in FY2021 and continues to be encouraged that feedback for both products is indicative of significant future commercial potential.
However, Acacia’s standalone financial condition has been negatively impacted by physical access limitations caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic, and a significant latency of demand due to postponement of surgical procedures. Accordingly, Acacia expects it would require a minimum of approximately US$115m of additional cash to fund operations to break-even (based on projections assuming break-even by early FY2025).
As a result, the Acacia Board appointed Greenhill to undertake a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives available to maximise value for Acacia Shareholders. The review included consideration of options to raise additional capital, but found that the terms on which such capital was likely to be available would have led to significant dilution and potential destruction of value for Acacia Shareholders.
Following this comprehensive exploration and assessment of all strategic alternatives, the board of directors of Acacia and the board of directors of Eagle Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Eagle") hereby announce that they have reached agreement on the terms of a transfer of the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Acacia to Eagle by way of a scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006 (the "Proposed Transaction").
Under the terms of the Proposed Transaction, each Scheme Shareholder will receive as consideration (the "Consideration"):
for each Scheme Share, €0.68 in cash and 0.0049 New Eagle Shares
The Proposed Transaction values Acacia’s existing issued and to be issued share capital at approximately €94.7 million on a fully diluted basis.
The cash portion of the Consideration represents approximately 75 per cent. of the total Consideration, and the New Eagle Shares that Acacia Shareholders would receive represent approximately 25 per cent. of the total Consideration, which represents approximately 3.8 per cent. of the enlarged Eagle share capital in issue immediately following completion of the Scheme. The total Consideration equates to €0.90 for each Scheme Share.
The Consideration provides Acacia Shareholders with both up-front cash and, through the New Eagle Shares to be acquired by Acacia Shareholders, equity participation in the value creation potential for the enlarged business through de-risked funding requirements, enlarged group synergies, and being part of a well-funded entity with shares trading on a liquid exchange.
Having considered all of the available alternatives as part of its strategic review, the Acacia Board believes that the Proposed Transaction represents the best option for Acacia Shareholders to maximise the value of their shares, and therefore unanimously recommends the Proposed Transaction.
Furthermore, the Acacia Board considers that there is a significant risk that if the Scheme is not approved by the necessary number of Acacia Shareholders, this could lead to a very material reduction in the value attributable to Acacia Shares and/or an insolvency procedure relating to the Acacia Group, which could in turn result in negligible (if any) value being attributable to Acacia Shares.
In making its recommendation, the board of Acacia has considered the financial position of Acacia given the significant operational challenges as a result of the limited physical access to institutions resulting from the global COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the significant latency of demand due to the postponement of non-essential surgical procedures, as a result of which the Acacia Group has experienced a significant reduction in its available liquidity as the net revenue in 2021 and so far in 2022 continues to lag behind expectations.
Recommendation, irrevocable undertakings and shareholder support for the Proposed Transaction
The Acacia Directors consider the Proposed Transaction to be the best available option for Acacia Shareholders. In making this assessment, the Acacia Directors have received financial advice from Greenhill who, in providing its financial advice, has taken into account the commercial assessments of the Acacia Directors. Accordingly, the Acacia Directors intend unanimously to recommend that Acacia Shareholders vote in favour of the Scheme at the Court Meeting and the Resolutions to be proposed at the General Meeting, as the Acacia Directors have irrevocably undertaken to do in respect of the 217,543 Acacia Shares which they hold and which they control (or can procure the control of) the voting rights, representing approximately 0.22 per cent. of the issued share capital of Acacia on 25 March 2022, being the last business day before this announcement.
In addition to the irrevocable undertakings referred to above, Eagle has also received irrevocable undertakings from the three largest shareholders of Acacia to vote in favour of the Scheme at the Court Meeting and the Resolutions to be proposed at the General Meeting in respect of the 49,012,875 Acacia Shares which they hold and which they control (or can procure the control of) the voting rights, representing approximately 48.56 per cent. of the issued share capital of Acacia on 25 March 2022, being the last business day before this announcement.
Therefore, Eagle has received irrevocable undertakings representing, in aggregate, 49,230,418 Acacia Shares representing approximately 48.78 per cent. of the issued share capital of Acacia.
Further details of these irrevocable undertakings, including the circumstances in which they cease to be binding, are set out in Appendix 3 to this announcement.
Information on Eagle
Eagle is a fully integrated pharmaceutical company with research and development, clinical, manufacturing and commercial expertise. Eagle is committed to developing innovative medicines that result in meaningful improvements in patients’ lives. Eagle’s commercialised products include vasopressin injection, PEMFEXY, RYANODEX, BENDEKA, BELRAPZO, TREAKISYM (Japan), and its oncology and CNS/metabolic critical care pipeline includes product candidates with the potential to address underserved therapeutic areas across multiple disease states. Additional information is available on Eagle’s website at www.eagleus.com.
Eagle is listed with shares of its common stock publicly traded on Nasdaq under the trading symbol "EGRX" and has a market capitalisation of approximately US$615 million as at 25 March 2022, being the last business day before this announcement.
Comments on the Proposed Transaction
Commenting on the Proposed Transaction, Scott Byrd, Chairman of Acacia, said:
"I am proud of the progress that Acacia has achieved in bringing Barhemsys through clinical trials to the market and in the progress it has subsequently made in launching both this product and Byfavo in the US. Both products are designed to address clear and important hospital needs and to date have received positive feedback from customers and strong formulary acceptance, positioning them well for future success. However, the global COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant and sustained challenges that have significantly disrupted hospital operations, limited access, and dramatically increased the time and investment required for product launches.
The Acacia Board believes this Proposed Transaction represents an opportunity for Acacia shareholders to realise value for their investment in cash and, through Eagle, retain an interest in the future value that may be generated from Barhemsys and Byfavo being part of a larger portfolio of hospital products, in the hands of a well-capitalised company. We are therefore unanimously recommending this Proposed Transaction to our shareholders."
Commenting on the Proposed Transaction, Scott Tarriff, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eagle, said:
"We are delighted to announce that we have agreed to terms for the proposed acquisition of Acacia. This will be a very important acquisition for us, both financially and strategically. In recent years, the pharmaceutical industry has witnessed slower uptake of new products and longer ramp periods. In the face of further challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, many smaller underfunded companies experienced significant hurdles launching products. We therefore believe that Eagle is well suited to drive uptake of these two new products, building from Acacia’s established foundation since its launch, through our experienced and specialised hospital-based sales organisation with minimal additional infrastructure."
Timetable
The Proposed Transaction will be implemented by means of a Court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement between Acacia and the Scheme Shareholders under Part 26 of the Companies Act.
he Scheme Document, containing further information about the Proposed Transaction and notices of the Court Meeting and General Meeting, together with the Forms of Proxy, will be sent to Acacia Shareholders and (for information only) participants in the Acacia Share Schemes as soon as reasonably practicable. An expected timetable of principal events will be included in the Scheme Document.
The Scheme is expected to become effective between the middle of May 2022 and 30 June 2022, subject to the satisfaction (or, where applicable, waiver) of the terms set out in Appendix 1 to this announcement.
This summary should be read in conjunction with, and is subject to, the full text of the following announcement (including its Appendices). The Proposed Transaction will be subject to the terms set out in Appendix 1 and to the full terms and conditions to be set out in the Scheme Document. Appendix 2 contains the sources and bases of certain information contained in this summary and the following announcement. Appendix 3 contains details of the irrevocable undertakings received by Eagle. Appendix 4 contains the definitions of certain terms used in this summary and the following announcement.