*

Sanofi to pay $129 per share in cash

*

Deal to enhance Sanofi's rare and immunology portfolios

*

Would be one of biggest in Europe so far this year

(Adds details and background throughout, shares)

PARIS, June 2 (Reuters) - France's Sanofi has

agreed to buy U.S.-based Blueprint Medicines Corporation ( BPMC ) for

over $9 billion to boost its position in rare immunology

diseases, in what would be the biggest healthcare deal in Europe

this year, according to LSEG data.

Blueprint is a specialist in treatments for

systemic mastocytosis, a rare immunological disorder.

The two companies said on Monday that Sanofi would pay

$129.00 per share in cash.

The acquisition "represents a strategic step forward in our

rare and immunology portfolios. It enhances our pipeline and

accelerates our transformation into the world's leading

immunology company," said Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson.

The deal would add to Sanofi's portfolio the rare immunology

disease drug Ayvakit/Ayvakyt, approved in the U.S. and the EU,

and a promising advanced and early-stage immunology pipeline.

Blueprint's established presence among allergists,

dermatologists, and immunologists is also expected to enhance

Sanofi's growing immunology pipeline, the companies said.

Ayvakit/Ayvakyt is the only approved medicine for advanced

and indolent systemic mastocytosis, which is characterised by

the accumulation and activation of aberrant mast cells in bone

marrow, skin, the gastrointestinal tract, and other organs.

The acquisition would also bring elenestinib, a

next-generation medicine for systemic mastocytosis, as well as

BLU-808, a highly selective and potent oral wild-type KIT

inhibitor that has the potential to treat a broad range of

diseases in immunology.

It is the latest in a series of deals struck by Sanofi. Last

month, it announced the $470 million purchase of Vigil

Neuroscience ( VIGL ) and in January 2024 it struck a $2.2

billion deal for U.S biotech firm Inhibrx.

Sanofi's shares opened little changed.

Besides $129.00 per share in cash, Blueprint shareholders

would also receive one non-tradeable contingent value right

(CVR) which would entitle the holder to receive two potential

milestone payments of $2 and $4 per CVR for the achievement,

respectively, of future development and regulatory milestones

for BLU-808.

The total equity value of the transaction, including

potential CVR payments, would be approximately $9.5 billion on a

fully diluted basis.

Hudson said the deal complemented Sanofi's recent

acquisitions of other early-stage medicines and added that it

still retained a sizable capacity for further acquisitions.