Except as set forth elsewhere in this Offer to Purchase or Schedule I to this Offer to Purchase, none of Purchaser, Parent, Merck or, to the best knowledge of Purchaser, Parent and Merck, the persons listed in Schedule I hereto or any associate or other majority-owned subsidiary of Purchaser, Parent, Merck or of any of the persons so listed (i) beneficially owns or has a right to acquire any Shares or any other equity securities of ArQule; (ii) has effected any transaction with respect to the Shares or any other equity securities of ArQule during the past 60 days. Except as set forth elsewhere in this Offer to Purchase or Schedule I to this Offer to Purchase, none of Purchaser, Parent, Merck or, to the best knowledge of Purchaser, Parent or Merck, the persons listed in Schedule I hereto has any contract, arrangement, understanding or relationship with any other person with respect to any securities of ArQule (including any contract, arrangement, understanding or relationship concerning the transfer or the voting of any such securities, joint ventures, loan or option arrangements, puts or calls, guaranties of loans, guaranties against loss or the giving or withholding of proxies, consents or authorizations).
During the two years before the date of this Offer to Purchase, there have been (i) no transactions between any of Purchaser, Parent, Merck, their subsidiaries or, to the best knowledge of Purchaser, Parent and Merck, any of the persons listed in Schedule I to this Offer to Purchase, on the one hand, and ArQule or any of its executive officers, directors or affiliates, on the other hand, that would require reporting under SEC rules and regulations; and (ii) no negotiations, transactions or material contacts between Purchaser, Parent, Merck, their subsidiaries or, to the best knowledge of Purchaser, Parent and Merck, any of the persons listed in Schedule I to this Offer to Purchase, on the one hand, and ArQule or any of its affiliates, on the other hand, concerning a merger, consolidation or acquisition, a tender offer or other acquisition of securities, an election of directors or a sale or other transfer of a material amount of assets.
Additional Information. Pursuant to Rule 14d-3 under the Exchange Act, Parent and the Purchaser have filed with the SEC a Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO (as it may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Schedule TO”), of which this Offer to Purchase forms a part, and exhibits to the Schedule TO. The Schedule TO and the exhibits thereto, as well as other information filed by Parent and the Purchaser with the SEC, are available and may be obtained at no charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
9. Source and Amount of Funds
We estimate that we will need approximately $2.7 billion to purchase all of the Shares pursuant to the Offer and to complete the Merger. Parent will provide us with sufficient funds to purchase all Shares validly tendered (and not properly withdrawn) in the Offer, to provide funding for the Merger and to make payments for outstanding ArQule stock options and ArQule warrants pursuant to the Merger Agreement. Parent has, or will have, available to it, through a variety of sources, including cash on hand, funds necessary to satisfy all of Purchaser’s payment obligations under the Merger Agreement and resulting from the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement. The Offer is not conditioned upon Parent’s or Purchaser’s ability to finance the purchase of Shares pursuant to the Offer.
10. Background of the Offer; Past Contacts or Negotiations with ArQule
Background of the Offer
The following is a description of contacts between representatives of Merck and its affiliates and representatives of ArQule and other persons that resulted in the execution of the Merger Agreement. For a review of ArQule’s additional activities, please refer to the Schedule 14D-9 that will be filed by ArQule with the SEC and mailed to stockholders of ArQule.
From time to time in the ordinary course of business, Merck and Parent evaluate various business opportunities to enhance shareholder value. These evaluations have included periodic assessments of potential strategic transactions to strengthen Merck’s existing business.
On June 27, 2019, representatives of Merck spoke with representatives of ArQule by telephone regarding a potential co-development and profit-sharing partnership for ARQ 531, following an introduction coordinated by a director of ArQule. Additional conversations with representatives of ArQule occurred throughout the summer of 2019.
On August 21, 2019, ArQule and Parent executed a confidential disclosure agreement (the “CDA”) for the purpose of exploring a potential co-development and profit-sharing partnership for ARQ 531. Merck began conducting preliminary due diligence on clinical, safety and regulatory data on ARQ 531 subject to the CDA.