Jazz Pharmaceuticals finalized a deal with GW Pharmaceuticals, one of the first and largest producers of legal cannabis-based medicines. GW Pharma ($GWPH) stock jumped nearly 50% after they agreed to sell to Jazz for a landslide of $7.2 billion.
The deal
The sale will be made in both cash and stocks. Jazz is set to acquire GW Pharma for $220.00 per American Depository Share. This will be paid in the form of $200.00 in cash and $20.00 in Jazz ordinary shares. The sale considers a total of $7.2 billion or 6.7 billion USD net of GW Pharma cash. Board members of both companies have unanimously agreed to the acquisition. So from here, GW Pharma is to sell to Jazz in the second quarter of 2021.
GW Pharma’s origins to today’s laneway
Dr. Geoffrey Guy founded GW Pharma in 1998. He took inspiration from a book written by Mary Lynn Mathre and then personally convinced the government of Great Britain to authorize GW as the sole legal cultivator of cannabis in their nation. But, Dr. Guy dealt with a career of criticisms. This included, but is not limited to, patenting the cannabis industry, threatening to dispose of an estate owner and former employee’s six horses according to The Times, and then GW Pharma themselves were sued for patent infringement.
GWPH employs Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Centerview Partners LLC as financial advisors. Whereas, Greenwich Biosciences operates as their subsidiary in the United States. It was in 2019 that the FDA approved their CBD-based product, Epidiolex, for sale in the United States. Epidiolex, or Epidyolex®, has achieved regulatory authorization in Australia and the UK. The drug is given to American patients one-year and older to treat seizures associated with early-onset epilepsy. Earlier, GW completed phase three trials for the only medicine prescribed for MS in Canada, Sativex.
Jazz jumps GW Stock, Pharma’s future
GW Pharma’s stock rose 46% upon the announcement of Jazz’s $7.2 billion acquisition. Jazz Pharmaceuticals hopes to incorporate Epidiolex into their Neuroscience Portfolio. “Together, we will have an opportunity to reach and impact more patients through a broader portfolio of neuroscience-focused therapies than ever before,” Justin Gover, CEO of GW Pharmaceuticals, stated in a press release.
Let us know how you feel after a hearing GW Pharma sell for $7.2 billion. And, check out this story for information about the litigation that GW Pharmaceuticals faced before they agreed to sell.
Photo courtesy of Ethan Russo by David Downs, Ph.D.