Merck & Co. will acquire oncology specialist ArQule in a $2.7 billion deal.
Merck said it will pay $20 for each ArQule share, which would be a premium of more than 100% to the stock's closing price of $9.66 Friday on the Nasdaq.
ArQule specializes in research and development of targeted therapeutics for treatment of cancers and rare diseases. It will be merged into the broader Merck & Co.
The deal is expected to close early in the first quarter of 2020. The merger would allow Merck access to ArQule’s experimental treatment ARQ 531, a precision medicine that customizes treatment to a patient’s genetic profile.