LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Shares in BioMarin surged on Wall Street on Friday after the pharma group agreed to buy smaller peer Amicus Therapeutics for $4.8bn, expanding its position in the rare diseases market.
Through the deal, BioMarin would get its hands on Amicus's Galafold drug for Fabry disease, and Pombiliti-Opfolda for Pompe disease, adding two high-growth treatments that have made $599m in revenues over the past four years alone.

BioMarin said the acquisition would accelerate revenue growth immediately upon completion and is expected to be accretive to earnings per share in the first 12 months.

The deal valued Amicus at $14.50 per share, a 33% premium to the stock's last close, and a 46% premium to its 30-day average. Amicus opened 31% higher at $14.29 in early deals, while BioMarin jumped 15% to $59.75.

"Amicus, like BioMarin, is a company that has been profoundly dedicated to transforming care for patients with rare diseases since its founding, developing and bringing to market important therapies for individuals living with Fabry disease and Pompe disease," said Alexander Hardy, president and chief executive of BioMarin.

"BioMarin's scale of operations, including our global commercial footprint and industry-leading, in-house manufacturing capabilities make the combination of these companies an exceptional strategic fit," he said.

Meanwhile, Amicus's president and CEO Bradley Campbell said the deal would see the company reach "even more patients around the world, faster".

"We are confident that this agreement is in the best interests of our shareholders by providing compelling, certain and premium value, and will accelerate progress for the rare disease community," Campbell said.

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