Ligand acquires Pfenex Inc.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated and Pfenex announced the signing of a definitive agreement for Ligand to acquire all outstanding shares of Pfenex for $12.00 per share in cash or $438 million in equity value on a fully diluted basis. In addition, Ligand will pay $2.00 per share or $78 million as a Contingent Value Right (CVR) in the event a predefined regulatory milestone is achieved by December 31, 2021, for a total transaction value of up to $516 million. The closing of this transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to occur in the fourth quarter. Pfenex is a development and licensing biotechnology company focused on leveraging its proprietary Pfenex Expression Technology, which offers a robust, validated, cost-effective and scalable approach to recombinant protein production, and is especially well-suited for complex, large-scale protein production that cannot be made by more traditional systems. The technology is currently out-licensed for numerous commercial and development-stage programs, as well as used by Pfenex in developing an early stage product pipeline and nanobody discovery and development capability.