Merz Pharma will buy BioForm Medical for $253 million, reporting on Monday it would pay $5.45 per share, which is a 60% premium over the last closing price. BioForm manufactures a glue to reattach eyebrows after forehead lifts and fillers that are injected under the skin to smooth wrinkles.

BioForm’s board and management team, which hold about 26% of the company’s shares between them, have agreed to sell their shares to Merz, according to the statement.

"This transaction advances Merz’s strategy of becoming a leading player in aesthetic medicine, a fast growing, multibillion dollar global market," Merz said in its statement, which was picked up by Reuters news service.

BioForm shares were offered at $5.56 apiece in premarket trading — they had closed at $3.40 on December 31 when stock exchanges were last open. Bioform CEO Steve Basta and his management team will stay with the company after the acquisition, which will see BioForm being renamed to Merz Aesthetics, Merz says.

[Source: Reuters]