Grifols SA's proposed purchase of Talecris must still receive approval from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
The Spanish firm's executives said today they are confident the deal will be approved, largely because it is smaller than Australia's CSL Ltd.
CSL tried to buy Talecris in 2008 for $3.1 billion, but the deal ran into problems with antitrust regulators.
In a research note about the Grifols-Talecris deal, Wells Fargo Senior Analyst Aaron Reames notes that the combined companies would control 31 percent of the blood plasma market in the U.S.
That's less than the 43 percent market share a CSL-Talecris merger would have captured, and less than the 36 percent market share competitor Baxter already has.
Grifols does have a presence in the U.S. The company has a manufacturing facility and some offices in Los Angeles and about 80 plasma centers around the country.
That's a bigger network of plasma centers than Talecris, which has 69 in the U.S.
As for why Talecris is being swallowed up just nine months after going public, the answer likely has to do with the company's largest shareholders.
Private equity firms Cerberus Capital Management and Ampersand Ventures own 49 percent of Talecris' outstanding shares and have agreed to vote in favor of the deal.
Cerberus and Ampersand paid about $450 million for Talecris in 2005.
Selling Talecris to Grifols for $26.16 per share will give the investors a sizable return on their investment.
Prior to the deal's announcement this morning, Talecris' stock had been languishing below the $19 per share price it debuted at late last year.
That was disappointing since analysts that cover the company had target prices for the stock ranging from $24 per share to $30 per share.
The merged Talecris-Grifols will have two classes of stock. The primary one will trade in Spain with a second class trading on the Nasdaq under a new ticker.
The Grifols family will have the largest ownership stake in the combined company.
Business reporter David Bracken came to the N&O in 2004. He covers commercial and residential real estate. Contact David at 919-829-4548 or