Dyax shares surge as Shire offers $5.9 billion acquisition bid

Shares of Dyax surged Monday after the biotechnology company received a $5.9 billion bid to be acquired by drugmaker Shire.

Shire, which is based in Dublin and specializes in specialty medicine, offered to pay $37.30 in cash for each share of Dyax, based in Burlington, Mass.

Dyax shareholders will receive an additional $4 per share if DX-2930, the company’s most advanced clinical drug in development, receives approval for treating HAE, a rare genetic disease. This would increase the value of the deal by $646 million, the companies said.

Dyax estimates that DX-2930 could generate annual sales up to $2 billion and receive patent protection beyond 2030.

Shares of Dyax were up $8.34 to $35.84 as of Monday morning, the highest price in about 15 years.

“We have closely followed DX-2930’s progress in the evolving HAE landscape for some time, and we admire the work of the Dyax team in moving this next-generation therapy forward," said Shire CEO Flemming Ornskov in a statement. "DX-2930 is a strategic fit within our HAE domain expertise, and we are well-positioned to advance the development, registration, and commercialization of DX-2930 for the benefit of HAE patients."

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2016. Shire anticipates the deal will generate about $50 million in savings in 2017 and $100 million in 2019.

Shire says it has secured a $5.6 billion loan to pay for the deal.