Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.
Agreement and Plan of Merger
On
Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, and upon the terms and subject to the
conditions thereof, Purchaser will commence a tender offer (the "Offer") to
purchase all of the issued and outstanding shares (the "Shares") of common
stock, par value
Following the consummation of the Offer and subject to the terms and conditions
of the Merger Agreement, Purchaser will merge with and into the Company, with
the Company being the surviving corporation. The Merger Agreement contemplates
that the Merger will be effected pursuant to Section 251(h) of the General
Corporation Law of the
The obligation of Parent and Purchaser to consummate the Offer is subject to the
condition that there be validly tendered in the Offer and "received" by the
"depositary" (as defined in Section 251(h) of the DGCL), and not validly
withdrawn prior to the expiration of the Offer, a number of Shares that,
together with the number of Shares, if any, then owned beneficially by Parent
and Purchaser (together with their wholly owned subsidiaries) would represent at
least a majority of the Shares outstanding as of the consummation of the Offer
(the "Minimum Tender Condition"), among others. The Minimum Tender Condition may
not be waived by Purchaser without the prior written consent of the Company. The
obligation of Purchaser to consummate the Offer is also subject to the
expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust
Improvements Act of 1976, receipt of approvals under certain antitrust laws in
ex-
The Merger Agreement provides that at the Effective Time all options to purchase Shares granted under a Company equity plan, agreement or arrangement (each such option, a "Company Stock Option"), that are outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time and that have an exercise price per Share that is less than the Offer Price, will be cancelled and the holder of each such Company Stock Option will be entitled to receive (without interest), in consideration for the cancellation of such Company Stock Option, an amount in cash (less applicable withholding of taxes required by applicable law) equal to the product of (i) the total number of Shares subject to such Company Stock Option immediately prior to the Effective Time multiplied by (ii) the excess of the Offer Price over the applicable exercise price per Share under such Company Stock Option.
The Merger Agreement also provides that as of the Effective Time all outstanding restricted stock units ("RSUs") and performance stock units ("PSUs") that are outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time will be cancelled and the holder of each RSU and PSU will be entitled, in exchange therefor, to receive (without interest) an amount in cash (less applicable withholding of taxes required by applicable law) equal to the product of (i) the total number of Shares subject to (or deliverable under) such RSUs and PSUs immediately prior to the Effective Time (with any performance conditions deemed achieved at maximum levels with respect to the PSUs) multiplied by (ii) the Offer Price.
The Merger Agreement includes customary representations, warranties and covenants of the Company, Parent and Purchaser. The Company has agreed to use commercially reasonable efforts to carry on its business in the ordinary course until the Effective Time. The Company has also agreed not to solicit or initiate discussions with third parties regarding other proposals for a strategic transaction involving the Company. Parent and Purchaser have agreed to use reasonable best efforts to take actions that may be required in order to obtain antitrust approval of the proposed transaction, subject to certain limitations.
The Merger Agreement includes a remedy of specific performance for the Company,
Parent and Purchaser. The Merger Agreement also includes customary termination
provisions for both the Company and Parent and provides that, in connection with
the termination of the Merger Agreement under specified circumstances, including
termination by the Company in order to accept and enter into a definitive
agreement with respect to a Superior Proposal (as defined in the Merger
Agreement), the Company will be required to pay a termination fee of
The Company's Board of Directors unanimously (i) determined that the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby are fair to, and in the best interests of, the Company and its stockholders, (ii) declared it advisable to enter into the Merger Agreement, (iii) approved the execution and delivery of the Merger Agreement and the performance of the Company's obligations thereunder, (iv) resolved that the Merger be effected pursuant to Section 251(h) of the DGCL and (v) resolved to recommend that the Company's stockholders accept the Offer and tender their Shares pursuant to the Offer.
The foregoing summary of the principal terms of the Merger Agreement does not
purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full
copy of the Merger Agreement filed as Exhibit 2.1 hereto and incorporated herein
by reference. The summary and the copy of the Merger Agreement are intended to
provide information regarding the terms of the Merger Agreement and are not
intended to modify or supplement any factual disclosures about the Company in
its public reports filed with the
Item 5.02 Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers
In connection with approving the Company's entry into the Merger Agreement, but
prior to the execution of the Merger Agreement, the Company's Board of Directors
also approved amendments to the employment agreements between the Company and
the following executive officers of the Company: Mr.
Item 8.01 Other Events.
On
*****
Important Information About the Offer
The tender offer for the outstanding shares of Acceleron common stock referenced
in this communication has not yet commenced. This communication is for
informational purposes only and is neither an offer to purchase nor a
solicitation of an offer to sell securities, nor is it a substitute for the
tender offer materials that
THE TENDER OFFER MATERIALS (INCLUDING AN OFFER TO PURCHASE, A RELATED LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL AND CERTAIN OTHER TENDER OFFER DOCUMENTS) AND THE SOLICITATION/RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT ON SCHEDULE 14D-9 WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. ACCELERON'S STOCKHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THESE DOCUMENTS CAREFULLY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE (AS EACH MAY BE AMENDED OR SUPPLEMENTED FROM TIME TO TIME) BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT HOLDERS OF ACCELERON'S SECURITIES SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE MAKING ANY DECISION REGARDING TENDERING THEIR SECURITIES.
The Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal and certain other
tender offer documents, as well as the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement,
will be made available to all holders of Acceleron's stock at no expense to
them. The tender offer materials and the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement
will be made available for free at the
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are statements that are not historical facts and may include
projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding
plans, objectives, intentions and expectations with respect to future financial
results, events, operations, services, product development and potential, and
statements regarding future performance. Forward-looking statements are
generally identified by the words "expects", "anticipates", "believes",
"intends", "estimates", "plans", "will be" and similar expressions. Although
Merck's and Acceleron's management each believes that the expectations reflected
in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that
forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and
uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the
control of Merck and Acceleron, that could cause actual results and developments
to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the
forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties
include, among other things, risks related to Merck's and Acceleron's ability to
complete the acquisition on the proposed terms or on the proposed timeline,
including the receipt of required regulatory approvals, the possibility that
competing offers will be made, other risks associated with executing business
combination transactions, such as the risk that the businesses will not be
integrated successfully, that such integration may be more difficult,
time-consuming or costly than expected or that the expected benefits of the
acquisition will not be realized, risks related to future opportunities and
plans for the combined company, including uncertainty of the expected financial
performance and results of the combined company following completion of the
proposed acquisition, disruption from the proposed acquisition making it more
difficult to conduct business as usual or to maintain relationships with
customers, employees, manufacturers, suppliers or patient groups, and the
possibility that, if the combined company does not achieve the perceived
benefits of the proposed acquisition as rapidly or to the extent anticipated by
financial analysts or investors, the market price of Merck's shares could
decline, as well as other risks related to Merck's and Acceleron's respective
businesses, including the ability to grow sales and revenues from existing
products and to develop, commercialize or market new products, competition, the
uncertainties inherent in research and development, including future clinical
data and analysis, regulatory obligations and oversight by regulatory
authorities, such as the
Additional Information
In addition to the Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal and
certain other tender offer documents, as well as the Solicitation/Recommendation
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits. Exhibit No. Description of Exhibit 2.1 Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as ofSeptember 29, 2021 , by and amongAcceleron Pharma Inc. ,Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. andAstros Merger Sub, Inc. * 99.1 Joint Press Release, datedSeptember 30, 2021 , issued byAcceleron Pharma Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc. 104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)
*Schedules omitted pursuant to Item 601(a)(5) of Regulation S-K.
© Edgar Online, source