A £175m deal has been agreed for a Cheshire-headquartered veterinary pharmaceuticals business to buy a counterpart in the US.
Dechra Pharmaceuticals is set to acquire Piedmont Animal Health which specialises in developing products for pets.
The Northwich company has also announced plans to conduct a non-pre-emptive placing to raise approximately £180m by issuing more than 5.2 million new ordinary shares which represent about 4.8% of its existing issued share capital.
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Dechra said the raise would "also provide balance sheet flexibility to execute on an active acquisition pipeline including on one near term opportunity which the company is in exclusive discussions to acquire with an acquisition price similar to Piedmont".
Piedmont was founded in 2001 in Greensboro, North Carolina, and employs a development team of 19 people.
Dechra said the US firm has eight products in various stages of development serving both the cat and dog markets.
The two lead development products are expected to launch in financial years 2024 and 2025 with an forecast peak sales potential of at least $40m, it added.
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