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Welsh life sciences firm Diurnal set to be acquired by US biopharmaceutical company

Biopharmaceutical

Welsh life sciences firm Diurnal set to be acquired by US biopharmaceutical company

Diurnal, a Welsh life sciences company, is set to be acquired by Neurocrine, a US neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company.

This was a financial transaction worth £48.3 million.

The transaction is subject to shareholder approval, which is expected next month after Diurnal's board recommended the acquisition.

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Diurnal is a pharmaceutical company based in Cardiff that works to meet the needs of patients suffering from chronic endocrine (hormonal) diseases.

The company is listed on the Alternative Investment Market in Cardiff.

This includes the Welsh Government-owned Development Bank of Wales, which invested in the company prior to its flotation.

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Diurnal reported £2.13 million in unaudited net product sales and a £7.95 million net loss for the six months ending December 31, 2021.

The £48.3 million prices reflects a share valuation of 27.5 pence.

Diurnal non-executive chairman Anders Härfstrand said: “The board of Diurnal is delighted to announce this recommended offer. Diurnal and Neurocrine are highly complementary businesses, and we believe that Neurocrine’s financial and operational resources will substantially accelerate the development of a leading franchise in diseases of cortisol deficiency, benefiting physicians and patients globally.

“We believe that the acquisition is compelling for Diurnal’s shareholders, given the risks associated with achieving Diurnal’s vision of creating a profitable business, in particular the ongoing commercial rollout of products in Europe and the execution of key clinical studies, in addition to the substantial shareholder dilution that is likely to result from accessing the capital required to deliver this vision.”

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The purchase takes place at a time when UK companies are proving to be especially alluring to foreign buyers.

The UK was recently ranked as Europe's most desirable location for inbound M&A investment.

This was influenced by a number of elements, such as the UK's superior COVID-19 recovery to EU counterparts and its dominant market position across a number of important industries.

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Additionally, with the US dollar performing reasonably well and the pound recently hitting a 37-year low,

As US buyers move to acquire UK firms at low valuations, it appears likely that the UK could be poised to see even more inbound investment from across the Atlantic.

Source: Business Sale Report

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