AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) has announced an acquisition of Gracell Biotechnologies (NASDAQ:GRCL) that is expected to be completed in Q1 of 2024.

Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca has agreed to give Gracell Biotechnologies $1.20 billion in in exchange for GRCL stock. Currently, neither company has disclosed whether the payment will be in cash or in stock.

About The Companies Involved

A merger between Astra of Sweden and Zeneca Group of the United Kingdom formed AstraZeneca in 1999. The firm sells branded drugs across several major therapeutic classes, including gastrointestinal, diabetes, cardiovascular, respiratory, cancer, immunology and rare diseases.

Gracell Biotechnologies Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and discovering cell and gene therapies to address and fulfill unmet medical needs in the treatment of cancer. The company aims to disrupt conventional approaches to CAR-T cell therapies with its proprietary technology platforms-FasTCAR and TruUCAR.

How An Acquisition Works

An acquisition is when one company, called the acquiring company, buys most or all of another company's, or target company's, shares to gain ownership. Buying more than 50% of a company's stock allows the the acquirer to make decisions without the approval of the company's shareholders.

An acquisition can potentially lead to a merger with the parent company, which makes it similar to a merger. This is why the two terms are commonly grouped together as mergers and acquisitions (M&A). However, in a merger, the leadership & operations of both companies usually change dramatically, while during an acquisition this is less likely to happen.

Make sure to follow our mergers & acquisitions calendar to stay-up-to-date on the most recent M&A deals.

This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.