Conatus Pharmaceuticals to acquire Histogen.

Conatus Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company that has been focused on the development of novel medicines to treat chronic diseases, agreed to acquire Histogen, a privately-held regenerative medicine company. Under the terms of the merger agreement, pending stockholder approval of the transaction, Histogen will merge with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Conatus and Histogen stockholders will receive newly issued shares of Conatus common stock. The exchange ratio used to determine the number of shares of Conatus common stock issuable to Histogen stockholders pursuant to the merger was determined using a pre-transaction valuation of $100m for Histogen’s business, based on its latest priced investment round and clinical pipeline advancement, and $35m for Conatus’ business. "After completing a comprehensive review of multiple strategic alternatives, we determined that the proposed merger with Histogen would provide the best opportunity for Conatus shareholders moving forward. We believe that Histogen’s clinical-stage dermatological and orthopedic product development programs, under the continued guidance of the established Histogen senior management team, offer significant potential to drive future value for the combined company," Steven J. Mento, Conatus President and CEO.