Johnson & Johnson said it will buy Los Angeles cancer drug developer Cougar Biotechnology Inc. for about $894 million in cash.

The New Brunswick, N.J. pharmaceutical giant said late Thursday that it will pay $43 per share for Cougar, representing a 16 percent premium to Cougar’s closing price Thursday of $36.98. Including Cougar’s cash on hand, J & J; said the deal is worth about $970 million.

The acquisition will boost J & J;? portfolio of cancer drugs. Cougar is in the middle of two late-stage trials on experimental prostate cancer treatment abiraterone acetate, and also is developing drugs to treat breast cancer and the plasma-cell cancer multiple myeloma.

?e believe that this transaction strongly positions abiraterone acetate for future success with a leading health care company that has the expertise, resources, dedication and motivation to deliver it to the cancer patients who need it,?Chief Executive Alan H. Auerbach said in a statement.

The boards of both companies have approved the deal, which, pending regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the third quarter. Cougar will become part of Ortho Biotech Oncology Research & Development, a unit of J & J;’s Centocor Research & Development Inc. division.

While based in Los Angeles, the bulk of Cougar? research and development is being performed elsewhere. The company this month reported a wider first-quarter loss of $23.3 million on higher research and development costs related to abiraterone acetate.

Cougar shares were up $6.02, or 16 percent, to $43 in midday trading on the Nasdaq.