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news.Amarin has signed an agreement to acquire Ester Neurosciences, a research and development company based in Israel. The initial consideration is $15 million, plus up to $17 million in contingent payments.
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Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, Amarin will acquire 100% of the issued share capital of Ester for initial consideration of $15 million, of which $5 million is payable in cash and $10 million is payable through the issuance of 25 million Amarin ordinary shares, each ordinary share represented by one American Depositary Share (ADS), representing approximately 20% of the outstanding ADSs of Amarin (excluding the issuance of ADSs in the financing).
Additional contingent payments, valued at an aggregate of $17 million, will be payable to Ester in the event that certain development-based milestones are successfully completed.
The company has received financing commitments for approximately $8.1 million in gross proceeds in connection with public offerings of equity, three-year convertible debt and warrants. Directors and officers committed $1.7 million. The financing is expected to close in the first week of December, 2007.
Rick Stewart, CEO of Amarin, said: “This acquisition allows Amarin to gain access to a unique mRNA platform technology based on breakthrough discoveries in cholinergic neuromodulation. The validation of the platform via the promising clinical data from a Phase II study in myasthenia gravis adds substantial value to Amarin’s neuroscience portfolio.”