Merck KGaA to acquire Silence Therapeutics for $20 per ADS in cash
The offer values the UK biotech at an equity value of about $1.3 billion and sits 130% above Friday's closing price, Silence said.
Published
Merck KGaA has agreed to buy Silence Therapeutics, a London-based clinical-stage biotechnology company, for $20 per American depositary share in cash, the companies said.
The price represents a 130% premium to Silence's ADS closing price on Friday, October 16, 2026, according to Silence's press release. The deal puts an enterprise value of $1.1 billion and an equity value of about $1.3 billion on the company. Each ADS represents three ordinary shares, and Merck KGaA will acquire all of Silence's outstanding ordinary shares under the agreement.
Silence develops precision-engineered siRNA therapies, a class of drugs that silence disease-causing genes. Merck KGaA's press release said the acquisition brings in Divesiran, a Phase 3-ready siRNA therapy for the rare blood disorder polycythemia vera, which it said fits its rare disease and Global Specialty Innovator ambitions.
The companies expect the deal to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory and other customary approvals. It is the second acquisition Merck KGaA has announced in quick succession, following its agreement to buy Bio-Techne, which is still working through antitrust and shareholder approvals toward a close expected in late 2026 or early 2027. That transaction shows the pattern Merck KGaA tends to follow: clear a Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period and a shareholder vote, then proceed to close near the agreed cash price. The Silence deal is likely to follow a similar path, with the $20 offer serving as the anchor for how the shares trade as the acquisition moves toward completion.