Aravis Therapeutics has agreed to buy AGI Therapeutics for €6.6 million, a fraction of the €85 million the Irish pharmaceuticals group was valued at when it joined the stock market in 2006.

A failure to attract a development partner, on top of disappointing trials for a treatment for irritable bowel syndrome and a share price in decline for nearly three years prompted AGI to accept the cash offer from Aravis, a privately run pharmaceutical group.

The price of €0.0917 per AGI share represents a 67 per cent premium to AGI's closing share price at the end of last week and a premium of around 130 per cent to its average daily closing price for the previous three months.

"We believe the offer represents an attractive premium relative to our recent share price trading history and when the offer is considered alongside other alternatives the offer represents the best outcome for shareholders," Ronan Lambe, chairman of AGI, said in a statement on Monday.

The price of €0.0917 per AGI share represents a premium of approximately 67 per cent to the closing price of €0.055 per AGI Share on Friday.

Reuters