Ardea Biosciences Surges 51% After Buyout

Shares of Ardea Biosciences RDEA are seeing much strength after the company announced it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with AstraZeneca AZN for about $1.26 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will acquire Ardea for $32 per share which represents a total cash value of approximately $1.26 billion. This represents a premium on the value of Ardea's stock of 50% based on the one month volume-weighted average price (VWAP) and 54% based on the closing price on Friday, 20 April 2012. Currently, shares of Ardea Biosciences are trading over 51% higher at $31.55 per share.