(Reuters) -Japan's Astellas Pharma said on Monday it agreed to buy U.S.-based drugmaker IVERIC Bio Inc for about $5.9 billion in its biggest acquisition, giving it access to a range of ophthalmology treatments.
Through Berry Merger Sub Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Astellas U.S. Holding, the Japanese company agreed to acquire IVERIC for $40 per share in cash, Astellas said in a release.
The acquisition price is a 22% premium to IVERIC's $32.89 closing price on April 28.
The Japanese drugmaker has been aggressively chasing cross-border acquisitions for new treatments in recent years, announcing deals in late 2019 to buy U.S. biotech Xyphos Biosciences for up to $665 million and Audentes Therapeutics Inc for about $3 billion.
Prior to that, its biggest ever acquisition was its $3.8 billion purchase of OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc in 2010.
(Reporting by Baranjot Kaur in Bengaluru, Rocky Swift in Tokyo; Editing by Kim Coghill and Sonali Paul)
