Johnson & Johnson To Purchase Crucell For $2.29Bn

Johnson & Johnson JNJ has planned to acquire all the outstanding shares of Dutch biopharmaceutical company Crucell NV CRXL for about €1.75 billion ($2.29 billion). JNJ intends to offer €24.75 per share to buy CRXL, representing a 58% premium to CRXL's closing price of €15.70 on Thursday. JNJ currently holds about 17.9% of CRXL's shares. As a result of the deal, Crucell would gain from the experience of JNJ to develop and commercialize pharmaceutical products, while Johnson & Johnson would be able to strengthen its ability in the vaccine market. JNJ shares gained 0.10% to $61.35 in after-hours trading, while CRXL shares moved up 0.24% to close at $20.54 yesterday. Read more from Benzinga's Company news. Click here to get today's best trading ideas.