Merck has completed the acquisition of US-based biopharmaceutical company ArQule in a deal valued at around $2.7bn via its subsidiary, Merck has completed the cash tender offer to acquire all the outstanding shares of ArQule at a purchase price of $20 per share.

Merck said that the 103,394,298 shares of common stock of ArQule have been validly tendered and not withdrawn from the tender offer, representing around 75.3% of the outstanding common stock of ArQule on a fully diluted basis.In December 2019, Merck, through its subsidiary, commenced a cash tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of ArQule.Merck has concluded the acquisition of ArQule through a merger of its wholly-owned subsidiary, following the completion of the tender offer.

ArQule now operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merck, as the deal concluded.ArQule is primarily focused on the research and development of targeted therapeutics for the treatment of cancers and rare diseases.

The company aims to discover, develop and commercialise novel small molecule drugs in areas of high unmet need.