Merck to Acquire HBM Portfolio Company Terns Pharmaceuticals for USD 6.7 Billion

HBM Healthcare Investments, a healthcare-focused investment company, today announced that its publicly listed portfolio company, Terns Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: TERN), will be acquired by Merck (NYSE: MRK) for USD 53.00 per share in cash.

HBM Healthcare Investments began building a position in Terns Pharmaceuticals in February 2024 and invested a total of USD 19 million in the company over time. Merck’s acquisition now returns approximately three times the capital invested.

The takeover of Terns Pharmaceuticals marks the seventh acquisition from the HBM portfolio in the current financial year - following Merus, Y-mAbs Therapeutics, 89Bio, Akero, Bluejay Therapeutics, and Swixx Biopharma - and underscores both the strength of our investment strategy and the growing demand among pharmaceutical companies for innovative new therapies.

Terns Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage oncology company developing high-impact, transformative medicines by redefining established biological pathways. Its lead program, TERN-701, is a highly selective, oral, allosteric BCR::ABL1 inhibitor with a potentially best-in-class profile, offering the potential for meaningful improvements in efficacy, safety, and convenience for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia.