Roche offers to buy out Genentech for $43.7 billion

In Hungary

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG offered to acquire all outstanding shares in its US partner Genentech Inc for $43.7 billion.

Roche, which already owns 55.9% of Genentech, said it would offer $89 per share to buy up the remaining stake, a 9% premium to the biotech company's closing share price on Friday.

Roche expects the combination to generate annual pre-tax cost synergies of about $750 million - $850 million and to be accretive to earnings per share in the first year after closing.

Roche confirmed its 2008 sales and earnings per share forecast and said it was still committed to increasing its dividend pay-out ratio for the next three years.

Roche also said its H1 net profit fell 2% to CHF 5.73 billion ($5.62 billion), hit by loss of sales of influenza drug Tamiflu and the weak US dollar. (Reuters)

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