US company Jazz Pharmaceuticals has bought Irish firm Azur Pharma in a deal that creates a €1.5 billion specialty drug company headquartered in Dublin.
Now named Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc, it has about 430 employees - 20 in Dublin - with offices also in Philadelphia and Palo Alto.
One of the founders of Azur was former Elan executive Seamus Mulligan. Azur shareholders will own just over 20% of the new group, with Jazz shareholders owning the remainder of the combined firm.
Azur Pharma sells ten drugs for the central nervous system and women's health.
Jazz makes treatments for narcolepsy and obsessive compulsive disorder.
Bruce Cozadd, the group's chief executive, told RTÉ radio it was too early to say how many new jobs would be created in Ireland, but he expected jobs growth to be "significant" in Dublin in the coming years.
