German pharma giant Merck close to takeover of US cancer specialist

Germany's Merck is on the verge of a billion-euro takeover of US biopharmaceutical company Springworks Therapeutics, with the sides now in "advanced talks" about a purchase, Merck said on Friday.

The deal would be the largest acquisition in years for the DAX-listed pharmaceutical company based in Darmstadt and strengthen its cancer drugs business.

US media had previously reported that a transaction worth around $3.5 billion was in the works.

However, no final decision has yet been made and no legally binding agreement concluded, Merck emphasized.

The companies were talking on the basis of a price of around $47 per Springworks share, it said.

Springworks, based in the US state of Connecticut, was spun off from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer in 2017.

The company focuses on therapies for rare tumours and blood cancer and already has a drug approved in the US for the treatment of progressive soft tissue tumours.

Merck under pressure after drug flops

Merck's pharmaceuticals division has recently shown renewed solid growth, with the group now under pressure to bring new drugs onto the market.

Several promising offerings that were supposed to bring billions into its coffers failed in clinical trials.

Merck has therefore increasingly focused on concluding licenses with other companies for the marketing of their drugs, but recently also considered acquisitions again.

Its last major acquisition was the US semiconductor supplier Versum Materials in 2019, worth around €5.8 billion ($6.6 billion).

The largest acquisition in the company's history was US laboratory equipment supplier Sigma-Aldrich, which Merck took over for €13 billion in 2015.