Astellas To Buy OSI Pharma (OSIP)

Japanese drugmaker, Astellas Pharma, has agreed to buy OSI Pharmaceuticals

for $4 billion in cash. The deal will help Astellas gain ground in the U.S. drug market. The acquisition will also provide it with access to OSI’s (

) blockbuster cancer drug Tarceva. Astellas will pay $57.50 for each of OSI’s shares, up from its earlier bid of $52. According to Reuters, the latest price represents a 55% premium to OSI’s last closing price before Astellas launched its hostile bid on March 1. Astellas president Masafumi Nogimori said, “The merger with OSI provides Astellas with a top-tier oncology platform in the U.S. and an expanded product portfolio and pipelines." Astellas had earlier unsuccessfully tried to acquire CV Therapeutics in order to gain traction in the U.S. market.