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Imago Biosciences (NASDAQ:IMGO) stock is rocketing higher on Monday following news that Merck (NYSE:MRK) is acquiring the company.
Merck is going to spend $1.35 billion to buy Imago Biosciences. That has it agreeing to pay $36 per share in cash for IMGO stock. That’s a nearly 107% premium to the stock’s closing price on Friday.
Merck will use a tender offer for its acquisition of IMGO stock. That means a majority of shareholders will have to tender shares for the deal to go through. If all goes well, the company expects the agreement to close in the first quarter of 2023.
What’s Behind This Deal?
Merck is interested in the potential of bomedemstat in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms. Imago Biosciences is currently developing this treatment with several ongoing Phase 2 clinical trials. So far, results are promising and Merck wants a hand in that market.
Today’s news has shares of IMGO stock seeing incredibly heavy trading. As of this writing, more than 7 million shares of the stock have been traded. To put that in perspective, the company’s daily average trading volume is closer to 122,000 shares.
IMGO stock is up 104.9% as of Monday morning but is only up 43.9% since the start of the year.
Investors can catch up on all of the latest stock market news below!
We’ve got all of the stock market coverage traders will want to know about on Monday! A few examples include what has shares of Meta Materials (NASDAQ:MMAT), Teva Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:TEVA), and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock moving today. You can read all of that news at the following links!
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On the date of publication, William White did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
Read More: Why Is Imago Biosciences (IMGO) Stock Up 105% Today?