By Tom Corrigan
A bankruptcy judge Friday approved the sale of the assets of
Dendreon Corp., a troubled cancer drug maker, to Valeant
Pharmaceuticals International Inc. for $495 million.
The sale underwent significant modifications as recently as
Thursday night, adding an extra $95 million to the purchase
price.
In addition to Dendreon's flagship drug, Provenge, the deal now
also includes $80 million in cash held by Dendreon as well as
another product known as D-3263.
"Our judgment is that this is the better alternative," Kenneth
Ziman, a lawyer for Dendreon, said during a hearing Friday. "These
changes all are for the better."
Valeant has also offered to hire the company's employees and
take over the supply contracts for the acquired business, a
component of the offer that stabilizes Dendreon's operations.
A string of objections to the sale were all resolved
consensually, some just hours before Friday's hearing began.
Unsecured creditors also threw their weight behind the revised
deal.
"There is no question that a sale should be approved," Judge
Laurie Silverstein of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington,
Del., said as she made her ruling Friday.
The sale is scheduled to close on Monday, and Mr. Ziman said he
expects the company to exit Chapter 11 protection as soon as
June.
Originally, Valeant offered $296 million for Dendreon assets,
including Provenge. That offer was increased to $400 million when
Valeant was approved to serve as the stalking horse, or lead
bidder, at a bankruptcy auction that was ultimately canceled when
no rival bidders emerged to challenge Valeant.
The deal is Valeant's first big move since its failed hostile
takeover of Botox maker Allergan Inc. Actavis PLC ended up buying
Allergan in November for $66 billion. After losing out on Allergan,
Valeant indicated it would focus on expanding its own business. But
Dendreon appears to have been too tempting a target.
Dendreon filed for Chapter 11 protection in September after
Provenge failed to prove a hit with doctors. Its cost, $93,000 for
a standard course of treatment, and results that showed only a
four-month improvement in median survival rate made the drug a
tough sell.
Provenge had about $300 million in 2014 revenue, Valeant
said.
Peg Brickley contributed to this article.
Write to Tom Corrigan at tom.corrigan@wsj.com
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