Covington Represents Merck in $6.7 Billion Acquisition of Terns Pharmaceuticals

WASHINGTON—Covington advised Merck & Co., Inc. in its definitive agreement with Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc., under which Merck, through a subsidiary, will acquire Terns for $53 per share in cash, for an approximate equity value of $6.7 billion.

Terns is a clinical-stage oncology company reimagining known biology to deliver high impact medicines. Terns’ lead program, TERN-701, is a highly selective, oral, allosteric BCR::ABL1 inhibitor with a potentially best-in-disease profile that could meaningfully improve upon the efficacy, safety, and convenience of existing treatments for chronic myeloid leukemia.

The Covington team was led by Catherine Dargan, Drew Fischer, and Alicia Zhang.