(Bloomberg) -- Philip Morris International Inc. agreed to buy U.K. asthma drug maker Vectura Group Plc for $1.5 billion, one of the biggest moves yet by a tobacco company toward treating conditions that its cigarettes can help cause.
Philip Morris is offering 150 pence in cash for every Vectura share, the companies said in a statement Friday. That’s 11% higher than Thursday’s closing price, and beats a 958 million-pound ($1.3 billion) offer Vectura from Carlyle Group Inc. that management had agreed to in May. Vectura shares rose as much as 13%, trading above the new bid.
As an increasing number of people across the developed world quit smoking to improve their health, Philip Morris has focused its investment on IQOS heated-tobacco devices, and Chief Executive Officer Jacek Olczak is also targeting at least $1 billion in sales outside nicotine by 2025.
Philip Morris’s expansion into non-tobacco businesses could give some protection from regulatory threats. Juul Labs Inc., the maker of one of the most popular rival smoking alternatives, is awaiting a decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on whether it can continue selling its products.
Earlier this month, Philip Morris announced the $820 million acquisition of Fertin Pharma, a maker of nicotine chewing gum and oral drugs for pain.
Vectura has more than 200 scientists with expertise in formulation, devices, inhalation, regulatory teams, and clinical manufacturing.
(Updates with shares in second paragraph)
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