Sweden's SOBI makes $1.7 billion offer to buy CTI BioPharma

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Drug maker Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (SOBI) said on Wednesday it had agreed to make a $1.7 billion cash offer to buy CTI BioPharma, a U.S. biopharmaceutical company focused on blood related cancers and rare diseases.

SOBI said it would make a tender offer for $9.10 per CTI share, a premium of 89% over Tuesday's closing price of $4.82.

"The acquisition of CTI is the latest in a series of transformative transactions SOBI has conducted to build its leading rare haematology franchise," SOBI Chief Executive Guido Oelkers said in a statement.

The planned transaction, which was unanimously recommended by CTI's board, is fully funded through debt financing, up to half of which is expected to be refinanced through a rights issue, Sobi added.

Investor AB, SOBI's top shareholder, supports the acquisition of CTI, and is subscribing to about 34.7% of the rights issue, SOBI said.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year, the Swedish company added.

(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen; Editing by Terje Solsvik and Muralikumar Anantharaman)