Aralez closes $150 mln sale of Vimovo royalties, local assets

Aralez Pharmaceuticals Inc (TSX: ARZ) has wrapped up the sale of its Vimovo royalties and operations in Canada to Nuvo Pharmaceuticals Inc (TSX: NRI) for about $150 million (US$110 million).

The deal, announced in August 2018, is part of the company’s plan to sell its primary assets for about $326 million (US$240 million) and wind down operations.

Nuvo, a Toronto-based healthcare business, completed the acquisition with financing supplied by Deerfield Management, a U.S. healthcare investor.

Aralez launched in 2016 through a merger backed with US$350 million in Deerfield-led commitments.

PRESS RELEASE

Aralez Pharmaceuticals Completes Sale of Vimovo Royalties and Canadian Operations to Nuvo Pharmaceuticals

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Dec. 31, 2018 /CNW/ – Aralez Pharmaceuticals Inc. (“Aralez” or the “Company”) announced today that it and certain of its affiliates have completed the previously announced sale of its VIMOVO® royalties and Canadian operations to Nuvo Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Nuvo Pharmaceuticals (Ireland) Designated Activity Company (f/k/a Nuvo Pharmaceuticals (Ireland) Limited) (together, “Nuvo”) in transactions valued at U.S.$110 million in the aggregate, subject to customary adjustments.

The Company and certain of its affiliates conducted a court-supervised sale and auction process as part of their independent Canadian and U.S. court-supervised restructuring proceedings. The bid made by Nuvo served as the “stalking horse” bid for purposes of the sale of the VIMOVO® royalties and Canadian operations and was ultimately determined to be the successful bid in accordance with the related court approved bidding procedures. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice (in respect of the proceedings under Canada’s Companies’ Creditor Arrangement Act (CCAA)) and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court (in respect of the proceedings under chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code) approved the sales pursuant to orders dated December 7, 2018 and December 27, 2018, respectively.

The Company and certain of its affiliates continue to seek approval of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the sale of its TOPROL-XL® Franchise to its secured lender, certain funds managed by Deerfield Management Company, L.P. (“Deerfield”), in a transaction valued at U.S.$130 million, subject to customary adjustments. On December 18, 2018, the Company completed the sale of the U.S. rights of Bezalip® SR to Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. as previously disclosed on December 12, 2018. The Company and certain of its affiliates also continue their efforts to sell the assets not being sold in the transactions described above and intend to wind down their operations immediately following the consummation of the sales.

Additional Information

The Company’s securities law filings are available on the Company’s website at www.aralez.com, on EDGAR at www.sec.gov, and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Court filings and other information related to the court-supervised proceedings are available at a website administered by the Company’s claims agent, Primeclerk, at https://cases.primeclerk.com/Aralez. Information is also available at a website maintained by Richter Advisory Group Inc., the Company’s court-appointed monitor in Canada, in accordance with the CCAA proceedings, Richter Advisory Group Inc., at http://insolvency.richter.ca/A/Aralez-Pharmaceuticals. For additional information, vendors and customers may call 1-877-676-4390 or e-mail at aralez@richter.ca.

About Aralez Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Aralez Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on delivering meaningful products to improve patients’ lives by acquiring, developing and commercializing products in various specialty areas. More information about Aralez can be found at www.aralez.com.

For further information: 312-329-3918, info@aralez.com