Merck KGaA to buy Silence Therapeutics for 1.3 billion dollars

Merck KGaA of Darmstadt said on Monday that it has agreed to buy London based Silence Therapeutics for 20 dollars per American depositary share in cash, an equity value of about 1.3 billion dollars, adding the phase 3 ready siRNA therapy divesiran to its rare disease pipeline.

Why it matters: The price is an 82 percent premium to Silence's 30 day average price, and the deal gives Merck an entry into hematology through a therapy that cut phlebotomies sharply in phase 2 testing in polycythemia vera, a rare blood cancer.

Data as of Merck KGaA announcement, October 19, 2026, via Business Wire, read in full. Terms, trial figures and closing timetable are as stated by the buyer; single primary source, hence grade B. Developing item.

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany said on Monday that it has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Silence Therapeutics plc, the London based company developing short interfering RNA therapies, for 20 dollars per American depositary share in cash, with each ADS representing three ordinary shares. The price gives Silence an enterprise value of 1.1 billion dollars and an equity value of about 1.3 billion dollars, and is an 82 percent premium to its 30 day volume weighted average price of 10.99 dollars as of October 16. The acquisition adds divesiran, a phase 3 ready siRNA therapy for phlebotomy dependent polycythemia vera that is dosed once every three months and met its primary endpoint in the phase 2 SANRECO study, with an 88 percent responder rate against 19 percent on placebo. The transaction has been unanimously approved by Silence’s board, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027 subject to regulatory approvals and Silence shareholder approval through a United Kingdom scheme of arrangement, and will be funded through new debt.

Merck KGaA to buy Silence Therapeutics for 1.3 billion dollars

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