Vector Capital’s Tripos Intl To Acquire Pharsight Corp. For $57M

Drug development software maker Pharsight Corp. has agreed to be bought by privately held Tripos International for about $57 million in cash, the companies said in a joint statement.

Pharsight shareholders will receive $5.50 a share, which represents a premium of nearly 38 percent to the company’s Monday closing price of $3.99.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Covington Associates acted as financial advisor to Pharsight. Tripos is owned by private-equity firm Vector Capital.

Shares of Mountain View, California-based Pharsight were halted when the market opened.

(Reporting by Varsha Tickoo in Bangalore; Editing by Himani Sarkar)