Salix Pharmaceuticals and Santarus announced that the companies have entered into a merger agreement where Salix will acquire all of the outstanding stock of Santarus for $32 in cash per share, for a total value of approximately $2.6 billion. Covington & Burling is advising Salix on the acquisition and financing aspects of the transaction.

The companies expect to close the transaction in the first quarter of 2014. Salix intends to finance the transaction with a combination of approximately $800 million cash on hand and $1.95 billion in committed financing from Jefferies. Jefferies also committed to provide an additional $150 million revolving credit facility.

The Covington acquisition team is led by corporate partners Ed Britton and Catherine Dargan and corporate associates Kyle Rabe, Patrick Manchester and Nick Simon.

Salix develops and markets prescription pharmaceutical products and medical devices for the prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.

Santarus is a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing proprietary products that address the needs of patients treated by physician specialists.