Merck to buy cancer drug developer Peloton for $1.05 billion in cash

Merck & Co Inc said on Tuesday it would buy Peloton Therapeutics Inc for $1.05 billion in cash to gain access to the privately held company's renal cancer drug candidate.

The company's lead drug candidate, PT2977, will be studied in a late-stage study for treating renal cell carcinoma.

Peloton shareholders will be eligible to receive a further $1.15 billion on achieving certain milestones.

The company had been looking to go public and gave a pricing range of $15 to $17 per share for its initial public offering last week.

Credit Suisse acted as financial adviser for Merck and Covington & Burling LLP as its legal adviser. Centerview Partners was financial adviser to Peloton and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati was its legal adviser.