Merck agrees $3.9 billion takeover of SpringWorks
Belén Garijo, Merck's chair and chief executive
Merck KGaA has reached an agreement with SpringWorks on a $47-per-share takeover deal that values the US biotech at $3.9 billion.
The acquisition – which was confirmed to be in the final stages of negotiation towards the end of last week – will "immediately add revenue and accelerate mid- to long-term growth for Merck's healthcare business," said the German group in a statement this morning.
SpringWorks will add two FDA-approved products to Merck's portfolio, namely Ogsiveo (nirogacestat), a drug for desmoid tumours – which accounted for all its 2024 revenues of $172 million – and recently approved Gomekli (mirdametinib) to treat plexiform neurofibromas in neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) patients.
The agreed price is a 26% premium on SpringWork's share value in February, when speculation about a deal first emerged, and represents an enterprise value of €3.0 billion ($3.4 billion), said Merck.
"The agreed acquisition of SpringWorks is a major step in our active portfolio strategy to position Merck as a globally diversified, innovation and technology powerhouse," said Belén Garijo, Merck's chair and chief executive.
"For our Healthcare sector, it sharpens the focus on rare tumours, accelerates growth, and strengthens our presence in the US," she added.
Analysts have suggested that both Osgiveo and Gomekli have the potential to approach or exceed $1 billion in annual sales, which could inject additional growth into Merck's healthcare business as it faces slowing sales growth for its cancer immunotherapy Bavencio (avelumab) and the looming patent expiry for MS drug Mavenclad (cladribine), which together accounted for around a fifth of its €8.5 billion healthcare sales in 2024.
SpringWorks is working on follow-up indications for Osgiveo and Gomekli in new areas like multiple myeloma and low-grade gliomas, respectively, and is also running early-stage clinical trials of a third candidate called brimarafenib in MAPK-mutant solid tumours.
This is the second pipeline-boosting deal for Merck in the space of a month, coming after it paid Chinese biotech Abbisko Therapeutics $70 million upfront for rights to pimicotinib, a drug in phase 3 testing for tenosynovial giant cell tumour (TGCT), a rare disease affecting the joints and tendons.
Garijo said Merck will continue to look for other acquisition opportunities across its healthcare, life sciences, and electronics businesses.
The SpringWorks takeover is expected to close in the second half of this year, according to Merck, which expects to post a lift in earnings per share (EPS) from the transaction in 2027.
