US biopharma Ligand Pharmaceuticals has announced its intention to buy UK biotech Vernalis for approximately $43 million.

The proposal needs a majority of shareholders representing at least 75% or more in value of Vernalis’s outstanding shares voting on the transaction. Ligand said the deal has received support and irrevocable undertakings from the UK company’s board of directors and its two largest shareholders, who together own approximately 67% of Vernalis’s outstanding shares. If approved, the transaction is expected to close in October.

Vernalis announced in March that it had decided to commence a formal sales process as part of a strategic review. As part of this review, the company decided to close its US operations, and Vernalis said this was on track for completion by Sept. 30.

The acquisition would give Ligand a European base, with a team of 70 R&D people based in Cambridge, UK, and a portfolio of eight fully funded partnered programs in areas including respiratory, oncology and the central nervous system.

Ligand added that the UK operations will provide a platform to more efficiently pursue investment and acquisition opportunities both in the UK and in Europe.