Gilead acquired Menlo Park, Calif.-based cancer biotech Forty Seven for $4.9 billion, the drugmaker said March 2.
It is Gilead's largest acquisition since it acquired Kite Pharma in 2017 for $11.9 billion, according to Endpoints News.
Gilead paid more than twice what Forty Seven's market cap was before word spread that Gilead had approached Forty Seven with an offer, Endpoints News reported. Other companies were reportedly also trying to buy Forty Seven.
The acquisition includes an antibody developed by Forty Seven to treat blood cancers that has shown promising results and that Gilead said could become a "first-in-class therapy."
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of this year.
Read the full news release here.