Diurnal to be taken over by Neurocrine Biosciences for £48.3m, shares surge

Diurnal shares surged on Tuesday after it agreed to be taken over by US biotech firm Neurocrine Biosciences for £48.3m.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Diurnal shareholders will be entitled to receive 27.5p per share in cash. This is a premium of 44% to the closing share price on Friday.

Diurnal’s non-executive chairman, Anders Härfstrand, said: "Diurnal and Neurocrine are highly complementary businesses, and we believe that Neurocrine's financial and operational resources will substantially accelerate the development of a leading franchise in diseases of cortisol deficiency, benefiting physicians and patients globally.

"We believe that the acquisition is compelling for Diurnal's shareholders given the risks associated with achieving Diurnal's vision of creating a profitable business, in particular the ongoing commercial roll out of Diurnal's products in Europe and the execution of key clinical studies, in addition to the substantial shareholder dilution that is likely to result from accessing the capital required to deliver this vision."

At 1500 BST, Diurnal shares were up 133% at 26.25p.