AstraZeneca to buy rare disease drugmaker Alexion in $39bn deal

Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca is to acquire Alexion in a cash-and-shares deal that values the Boston, US-based biotech at $39 billion. At $175 a share, this represents a 45% premium on Alexion’s share price. AstraZeneca is borrowing $17.5 billion to fund the acquisition. The deal, the largest in AstraZeneca’s history, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.