CureVac’s Stock Market Exit Finalized Following BioNTech Acquisition

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The publicly traded chapter for German mRNA specialist CureVac has closed. BioNTech SE has completed its full acquisition of the company, triggering a suspension of trading and an imminent delisting from the Nasdaq exchange. The Tübingen-based firm will now operate entirely as a subsidiary of its larger domestic rival. For investors, the focus shifts to the strategic deployment of CureVac's technology and the assumption of new legal liabilities by BioNTech.

As of Monday, January 6, BioNTech finalized the post-offer reorganization, becoming the sole owner of CureVac's business. The merger became effective at 6:21 a.m. EST, with CureVac Merger B.V. replacing the former CureVac N.V.

• Trading of CureVac shares on the Nasdaq was suspended prior to market open on January 6.
• Public shareholders no longer hold any equity in CureVac.
• The official delisting from Nasdaq is scheduled to take effect on January 16, at which point the ticker symbol CVAC will be permanently retired.

The transaction valued CureVac at approximately $1.25 billion (€1.25 billion). For each CureVac share, investors received BioNTech American Depositary Shares worth about $5.46. This represented a 55% premium over the three-month volume-weighted average price of $3.53, which was the prevailing price before the offer was announced on June 12, 2025.

Shareholder Acceptance and Key Backers

By the December 18, 2025 deadline, roughly 86.75% of CureVac's outstanding shares—totaling 195,341,219—had been tendered in the exchange offer. The remaining shares were acquired via a compulsory acquisition in the first week of January 2026 and integrated into the post-offer reorganization structure.

Major shareholders endorsing the deal included:
- dievini Hopp BioTech holding GmbH & Co. KG and affiliated entities
- Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), which held a 13.32% stake

This broad shareholder support ensured the takeover's success.

Legal Dispute Resolution Clears Path

The acquisition also concludes a protracted patent conflict between the two German mRNA pioneers. In August 2025, BioNTech entered into a comprehensive settlement agreement worth $870 million to resolve allegations of patent infringement related to the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty.

The settlement comprised:
- A $370 million payment to CureVac
- A $370 million payment to GSK, CureVac's former strategic partner
- An ongoing royalty of 1% on future mRNA-related revenue

This agreement removed a significant legal obstacle, facilitating the now-completed integration and transforming former litigants into a single entity.

Strategic Gains for BioNTech

Through this deal, BioNTech secures several core assets from CureVac:
- A state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Tübingen
- Proprietary "RNA Printer" modules for automated mRNA vaccine production
- CureVac's oncology pipeline
- Over two decades of mRNA research and associated intellectual property

Leadership has also been restructured. The management board of CureVac SE now consists of BioNTech CEO Prof. Ugur Sahin, along with Sierk Poetting and Ramón Zapata-Gomez. The former CureVac executive team has stepped down.

Market Reaction and Share Price Movement

The immediate market response to the deal's completion was muted. Following the initial transaction announcement, BioNTech's stock declined by approximately 2.5%. Analysts attributed this to dilution concerns and the substantial financial outlay for the patent settlement.

CureVac's final trading price on the Nasdaq on January 6 was $4.66 before the suspension. Since the takeover plan was revealed in June 2025, the share price had appreciated by around 40%. For shareholders of a company that, after setbacks with its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, had not brought a proprietary product to market, the deal provided a structured exit.

Emerging Legal Challenges

Concurrent with the acquisition's completion, new legal risks are emerging for the mRNA sector. On January 6, Bayer filed a lawsuit in the United States against BioNTech, Pfizer, and Moderna. The case involves patents from the Monsanto portfolio related to messenger RNA stabilization technology, which is also utilized in COVID-19 vaccines.

This introduces additional complexity for BioNTech as it integrates CureVac:
- All existing legal obligations of CureVac are now fully transferred to BioNTech.
- Potential future costs from ongoing or new litigation directly impact the transaction's valuation.

Consequently, investors and market observers are increasingly weighing the deal's strategic appeal against the backdrop of potential future legal expenditures.

Delisting Timeline and Formal Steps

Key dates for the stock market withdrawal are as follows:
- January 6: Trading suspension on Nasdaq and all major exchanges
- January 7: Final trading day on the Vienna Stock Exchange
- January 16: Official Nasdaq delisting takes effect

Following the filing of a Form 25 with the U.S. SEC, CureVac Merger B.V. plans to submit a Form 15 to terminate its registration and reporting duties under the Securities Exchange Act. Deregistration is expected to become effective 90 days after the Form 15 filing.

Forward Look: Integration and Pipeline

The BioNTech-CureVac transaction consolidates key mRNA expertise in Europe, aiming to create a powerful provider in the genetic medicines space. Operationally, the focus now turns to integrating CureVac's assets, particularly in relation to BioNTech's oncology programs.

At the upcoming J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, BioNTech intends to detail plans for incorporating CureVac's technologies and address the Bayer lawsuit. Significant upcoming milestones will include Phase 3 data for cancer vaccine candidates based on CureVac's second-generation mRNA platform, with initial results anticipated in late 2026 and 2027.

This marks the end of CureVac's brief and volatile history as a public company—from the high hopes of the pandemic era to its acquisition by a larger domestic competitor and transformation into a wholly-owned subsidiary.