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Aimmune Therapeutics soars 172% after Nestle agrees to acquire the peanut allergy treatment company for $2.6 billion (AIMT)

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  • Aimmune Therapeutics soared 172% on Monday after Nestle Health Science agreed to acquire the company for $34.50 per share, or $2.6 billion.
  • Aimmune developed a treatment for peanut allergies, Palforzia, which was approved by the FDA in January of this year.
  • But the COVID-19 pandemic derailed Aimmune's Palforzia launch plans, leading to a substantial decline in its stock price.
  • Prior to today's acquisition, Nestle held a 25.6% stake in Aimmune after a 2016 investment.
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Aimmune Therapeutics, a biotechnology company that developed a treatment for peanut allergies, soared 172% on Monday after Nestle Health Science, a division of Nestle, agreed to acquire the company for $2.6 billion.

In January, the FDA approved Palforzia as the first treatment ever for peanut allergies. But the COVID-19 pandemic delayed Aimmune's commercialization plans for the drug, resulting in a stock price decline of as much as 72% over the ensuing months.

Palforzia is intended for children aged 4 to 17 years old, and is used to help reduce the frequency and severity of an allergic reaction to peanuts, including anaphylaxis, according to Aimmune. The drug is in pill form and is taken orally.

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Nestle already owned a 25.6% stake in the healthcare company. Shortly after the approval of the peanut allergy treatment in January, Nestle announced a $200 million follow-on investment in the company. Nestle had originally invested in Aimmune in 2016.

Nestle expects the acquisition to be accretive to its organic growth in 2021, and accretive to cash earnings by 2022 or 2023, the company said. 

Nestle will launch a tender offer to acquire all shares it doesn't already own for $34.50, representing a 174% premium to Aimmune's Friday closing price of $12.60, and a total enterprise value of $2.6 billion.

Nestle will finance the acquisition with cash on hand and expects the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2020.

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