Merck to Acquire Viralytics for ~A$502 million under Scheme of Arrangement

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Pharma giant, Merck (MSD), and Viralytics have signed an agreement whereby Merck will acquire 100% of Viralytics under a Scheme of Arrangement.
• The proposed acquisition values the total issued shares in Viralytics at approximately AUD $502 million.
• The cash consideration of AUD 1.75 per share represents a premium of 160 % to the one-month volume weighted average stock price (VWAP) of Viralytics shares.

A note from Viralytics Chairman, Paul Hopper

This is truly a monumental day, not just for Viralytics shareholders, but also the Australian biotech industry where “home-grown” Australian technology developed by our scientific founder, Professor Darren Shafren at Newcastle University, receives both international scientific accolades, and also financial recognition in one of the biggest Australian biotech deals ever.

It has been a long journey from the near-bankrupt status of the Company when I became Chairman, to today’s news – I well remember the days when our market cap was $5 million and raising funds was well-nigh impossible.

I want to record my thanks to Viralytic’s leadership team and our staff for the way they have built momentum in the Company which has led to one of the most prestigious pharmaceutical companies globally, to see the merit and promise in our CAVATAK technology.

I want to pay tribute to Darren Shafren for his unswerving belief in his technology – in the early days treating cancer with a virus was seen as on the fringe – he never gave up

Malcolm McColl, our CEO, has done an outstanding job in his stewardship of the company and built an impressive team around him. He is highly regarded by international life science funds as evidenced by the blue-chip share register he has built over the past years.

We would not be where we are today without both of them.

CAVATAK is in safe hands with Merck and we will follow its development with great interest for the incredible promise it holds for cancer patients.

It is one of the highlights of my business career to have Chaired Viralytics.

About Viralytics

Viralytics is an ASX-listed biotechnology company using oncolytic viruses as potential therapeutics for use in a broad range of cancers. Oncolytic virotherapy has the potential to treat cancers more effectively than conventional treatments and with minimum side-effects.