AstraZeneca To Acquire ZS Pharma In Approx. $2.7 Bln Deal - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - AstraZeneca (AZN.L, AZN) announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ZS Pharma (ZSPH), a biopharmaceutical company based in San Mateo, California. AstraZeneca will acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of ZS Pharma for $90 per share in an all-cash transaction, or approximately $2.7 billion in aggregate transaction value.

The transaction does not impact AstraZeneca's financial guidance for 2015. It is expected to generate Product Sales from 2016, with minimal earnings dilution over 2016 and 2017, becoming accretive to AstraZeneca's core earnings from 2018.

ZS Pharma uses its proprietary ion--trap technology to develop novel treatments for hyperkalaemia, a serious condition of elevated potassium in the bloodstream, typically associated with chronic kidney disease and chronic heart failure.

AstraZeneca said the transaction will give the company access to the potassium-binding compound ZS-9, for the treatment for hyperkalaemia. ZS-9 is under regulatory review by the US FDA with a Prescription Drug User Fee Act goal date of 26 May 2016.