Why Sanofi (SNY) Is Buying Translate Bio (TBIO) For $3.2 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 3, 2021
  • Sanofi SA (NASDAQ: SNY) has announced it is buying Translate Bio (NASDAQ: TBIO) in a deal valued at about $3.2 billion. These are the details.

Sanofi SA (NASDAQ: SNY) announced has entered into a definitive agreement with Translate Bio (NASDAQ: TBIO), a clinical-stage mRNA therapeutics company, under which Sanofi will acquire all outstanding shares of Translate Bio for $38.00 per share in cash, which represents a total equity value of approximately $3.2 billion (on a fully diluted basis). This deal was made in order to to accelerate Sanofi’s endeavor to accelerate the application of messenger RNA (mRNA) to develop therapeutics and vaccines. The Sanofi and Translate Bio Boards of Directors unanimously approved the transaction.

In June 2018, Sanofi and Translate Bio had entered into a collaboration and exclusive license agreement to develop mRNA vaccines — which was further expanded in 2020 to broadly address current and future infectious diseases. There are 2 ongoing mRNA vaccine clinical trials under the collaboration, the COVID-19 vaccine Phase 1/2 study with results expected in Q3 2021 and the mRNA seasonal influenza vaccine Phase 1 trial with results due in Q4 2021. This acquisition builds on Sanofi’s establishment of a first-of-its-kind vaccines mRNA Center of Excellence.

In terms of therapeutics, Translate Bio has an early-stage pipeline in cystic fibrosis and other rare pulmonary diseases. And discovery work is ongoing in diseases that affect the liver and Translate Bio’s MRTTM platform may be applied to various classes of treatments, such as therapeutic antibodies or vaccines in areas like oncology. Plus Sanofi’s recent acquisition of Tidal Therapeutics expanded the company’s mRNA research capabilities in both immuno-oncology and inflammatory diseases. The Translate Bio acquisition further accelerates Sanofi’s efforts in developing transformative medicines using mRNA technology.

Under the terms of the merger, Sanofi will commence a cash tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Translate Bio common stock for $38 per share in cash reflecting a total equity value of Translate Bio of approximately $3.2 billion. And the purchase price represents a premium of 56% to Translate Bio’s volume-weighted average price per share over the past 60 days.

In order to demonstrate their commitment to the transaction, the chief executive officer of Translate Bio and Translate Bio’s largest shareholder The Baupost Group, L.L.C. have signed binding commitments to support the tender offer. These binding commitments — combined with the Translate Bio shares already owned by Sanofi or its affiliates — represent a total of approximately 30% of Translate Bio’s total shares outstanding.

KEY QUOTES:

“Translate Bio adds an mRNA technology platform and strong capabilities to our research, further advancing our ability to explore the promise of this technology to develop both best-in-class vaccines and therapeutics. A fully owned platform allows us to develop additional opportunities in the fast-evolving mRNA space. We will also be able to accelerate our existing partnered programs already under development. Our goal is to unlock the potential of mRNA in other strategic areas such as immunology, oncology, and rare diseases in addition to vaccines.”

— Paul Hudson, Sanofi Chief Executive Officer

“Sanofi and Translate Bio have a shared commitment to innovation in the mRNA space. With Sanofi’s long-standing expertise in developing and commercializing vaccines and other innovative medicines on a global scale, Translate Bio’s mRNA technology is now even better positioned to reach more people, faster. The talented and dedicated Translate Bio team has built the foundation of a strong mRNA platform. Our expertise coupled with that of Sanofi has driven significant progress under the collaboration thus far, and we believe that this acquisition will strengthen the team’s ability to achieve the full potential of the mRNA technology.”

— Ronald Renaud, Chief Executive Officer, Translate Bio