Merck & Co. completes the acquisition of U.S.-based Immune Design

Post the merger closure, Immune Design is deemed to become a fully-owned subsidiary of Merck.

The American biopharmaceutical giant, Merck & Co., has reportedly announced that it has successfully acquired all the outstanding shares of the common stock of Immune Design, a U.S.-based therapeutic vaccine product development company, at $5.85 per share purchase price, by means of a cash tender offer via a subsidiary.

Sources with the knowledge of the matter revealed that following the expiration of the tender offer, around 41,970,607 common stock shares of Immune Design had been validly tendered, not removed from the tender offer, and represented about 86.75 per cent of Immune Design’s outstanding common stock on a completely diluted basis. Sources further said that all of those shares have already been accepted for payment, which is in line with the tender offer and Merck is looking to immediately pay for the shares.

For the record, Merck, which is widely recognized as MSD outside Canada and the U.S., has brought forth numerous vaccines and medicines for some of the most challenging diseases known as on today. The company has customers in over 140 countries and delivers innovative and effective health solutions through its prescription medicines, biologic therapies, vaccines and animal health products.

As per a press release issued by Merck, the company is currently looking forward to completing the acquisition of Immune Design by way of merging one of Merck’s wholly owned subsidiaries with Immune Design, in which the shares that have not been tendered into the offer are likely to be cancelled and subsequently, changed into the right to receive cash equivalent to the offer price of $5.85 per share.

Reports further affirm that Immune Design will turn into a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck, following the merger’s closure, and its common stock will no longer be traded on the NASDAQ stock market.