The Wall Street Journal
Who cares about Obamacare?
No matter how that Washington D.C. drama pans out, it is clear that pharmaceutical giants still remain desperate to fill up their drug pipelines.
Tuesday night, oncology-drug development firm Facet Biotech Corp. announced it had been sold to Abbott Laboratories for about $450 million in cash or about $27 a share.
That is more than triple Facet’s stock price in early September. Abbott’s deal topped various entrees last year from biotech firm Biogen, which put the company into play with a bid of $14.50 in early September and then $17.50 later in the year.
Advised by boutique investment bank, Centerview Partners, Facet turned down both offers, even though the latter was a 200% premium from Facet’s original stock price. The board called the last offer “inadequate.”
Now we see why.
Abbott’s deal comes just weeks after it closed on a $6.2-billion deal to acquire Belgium-based Solvay Pharmaceuticals, a move to expand into emerging markets. Facet gives it a promising, albeit experimental, multiple sclerosis drug.
Two other multi-billion-dollar drug deals remain in play. Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc. has bid $52 a share or $3.5 billion for OSI Pharmaceuticals, a biotech firm with an approved cancer-fighting drug. Astellas’ offer was a healthy 40% premium from OSI’s closing the day before – but the market has blown past that offer and OSI shares now trade around $57.
Then there is the showdown for German generic maker Ratiopharm Gmbh, which is that county’s second-largest generic drug firm. Pfizer has wheeled out a bid around $4 billion – and sent its CEO to Germany in recent days for a closed door meeting with Ratiopharm executives.
Also in the fight is Israeli generic-drug giant Teva Pharmaecutical Industries Inc. and Iceland’s Actavis, both of whom have made similar financial and personal appeals.
With a market cap around $140 billion, Pfizer is seen by many as the favorite in Ratiopharm – even if it decided to also taken a run at OSI.
Two multi-billion-dollar deals at the same time would be a struggle for most companies in most industries. But in today’s drug industry, pharma giants need to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.
No matter how that Washington D.C. drama pans out, it is clear that pharmaceutical giants still remain desperate to fill up their drug pipelines.
Tuesday night, oncology-drug development firm Facet Biotech Corp. announced it had been sold to Abbott Laboratories for about $450 million in cash or about $27 a share.
That is more than triple Facet’s stock price in early September. Abbott’s deal topped various entrees last year from biotech firm Biogen, which put the company into play with a bid of $14.50 in early September and then $17.50 later in the year.
Advised by boutique investment bank, Centerview Partners, Facet turned down both offers, even though the latter was a 200% premium from Facet’s original stock price. The board called the last offer “inadequate.”
Now we see why.
Abbott’s deal comes just weeks after it closed on a $6.2-billion deal to acquire Belgium-based Solvay Pharmaceuticals, a move to expand into emerging markets. Facet gives it a promising, albeit experimental, multiple sclerosis drug.
Two other multi-billion-dollar drug deals remain in play. Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc. has bid $52 a share or $3.5 billion for OSI Pharmaceuticals, a biotech firm with an approved cancer-fighting drug. Astellas’ offer was a healthy 40% premium from OSI’s closing the day before – but the market has blown past that offer and OSI shares now trade around $57.
Then there is the showdown for German generic maker Ratiopharm Gmbh, which is that county’s second-largest generic drug firm. Pfizer has wheeled out a bid around $4 billion – and sent its CEO to Germany in recent days for a closed door meeting with Ratiopharm executives.
Also in the fight is Israeli generic-drug giant Teva Pharmaecutical Industries Inc. and Iceland’s Actavis, both of whom have made similar financial and personal appeals.
With a market cap around $140 billion, Pfizer is seen by many as the favorite in Ratiopharm – even if it decided to also taken a run at OSI.
Two multi-billion-dollar deals at the same time would be a struggle for most companies in most industries. But in today’s drug industry, pharma giants need to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.
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