Silence Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SLN) kicked off the trading week by more than doubling its share price, as investors snapped up its shares following Merck KGaA’s offer to acquire the company for a 130-percent premium.
In separate statements on the same day, Merck KGaA and Silence said that they have agreed to merge in an all-cash transaction worth $1.3 billion, subject to regulatory conditions.
Under the terms of the agreement, Merck KGaA will acquire all outstanding American depositary shares (ADS) of Silence Therapeutics at a price of $20 apiece, with each ADS representing three ordinary shares priced at $6.6667 each.
In intra-day trading, the stock soared to a two-year high of 19.61 before trimming a few cents to end the day up by 125.58 percent to $19.58 apiece—or just 2 percent shy of the offer price, signaling that investors are highly expecting the merger to materialize as planned.
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels
New Home for Innovative Programs
“This transaction follows potentially best-in-class Phase 2 polycythemia vera data for Divesiran and reflects the important progress we have made advancing our differentiated siRNA pipeline. It also provides a new home for our innovative programs within Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, placing Divesiran with a company that has the scale, resources and commercial capabilities to accelerate its Phase 3 development and bring this potentially best-in-class siRNA therapy to patients in need,” Silence Therapeutics Chairman Iain Ross said.
For his part, Meck KGaA Chairman and CEO Kai Beckmann said that the planned acquisition would help strengthen the company’s abilities to serve patients with targeted specialty and rare diseases.
READ NEXT: QXO (QXO) Grew Sales to $3.25B, but Can It Grow Profit?
“Following the acquisition of SpringWorks Therapeutics last year, we continue to transform our pipeline toward areas of high specialization and unmet medical need, with an ongoing commitment to external innovation. The proposed transaction follows Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany’s strategic priority to address attractive end markets also through M&A, creating value over the mid- to long-term,” he added.
The transaction is expected for completion in the first quarter of 2027, subject to approval of Silence Therapeutics shareholders, sanction by the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, and other closing conditions.
Hedge Funds Bullish
Merck’s hefty offer to acquire Silence Therapeutics signaled its highly optimistic outlook about its long-term growth prospects, aligning with a notable increase in hedge fund interest in the stock.
As of the second quarter of the year, 24 hedge funds held positions in the stock, up markedly from 13 in the first quarter, data from Insider Monkey showed. More notably, their combined holdings more than doubled to $138.77 million from $60.86 million.
READ NEXT: 33 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and Cathie Wood 2026 Portfolio: 10 Best Stocks to Buy.
Hedge Fund Resource Center