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Valeant in $2.6 bn deal for Medicis skin care

Canadian pharmaceutical company Valeant announced Monday it had paid $2.6 billion for US drugmaker Medicis, significantly boosting its skin care product offerings.

“The acquisition of Medicis represents a significant next step in our journey to become the leader in dermatology,” Valeant chief executive Michael Pearson said in a statement.

The transaction should be concluded by June 2013.

Under the “definitive agreement,” Valeant will pay cash for all of the outstanding common stock of Medicis, traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange, at $44 per share.

The offer represents a 39 percent premium over Medicis stock’s closing price on the New York Stock Exchange Friday, and brings the bill for Valeant’s 2012 purchases to $3.5 billion, according to a tally in Canadian media.

Medicis products fight acne, precancer skin growths and skin-related viruses.

The company will remain based in the southwestern US state of Arizona, and will continue operations under its own name, as a branch of Valeant.

The merger is expected to generate revenue of $1.7 billion in the US this year, the statement said, adding that the Montreal company was advised during this acquisition by the business bank JPMorgan Chase.