BIIB

Parlez vous ‘Deal’? Sanofi-Aventis’ Big Takeover Rumors

06/17/2009
Research Reloaded: 

More M&A potential in the pharma space involving Sanofi Aventis (SA) and potentially Bristol-Meyers (BMY), Biogen (BIIB), or Allergan (AGN).

 

Is there another mega pharma deal in the works? A recent report in the French business newspaper Les Echos is sparking speculation that Sanofi-Aventis is on the hunt. The newspaper recently said Sanofi’s new chief executive, Chris Viehbacher, was working on a big, possibly hostile takeover of a U.S. company that would have cost tens of billions of dollars.

In the end, the deal was deemed too risky by Sanofi’s largest shareholders, which include Total SA and L’Oreal, according to the June 11 Les Echos report.

Some obvious takeover targets include Bristol-Myers Squibb, because the two companies already have an existing partnership developing Plavix, the blood clot medication. Amgen is another possible takeover candidate, because the aging Sanofi could use the biotechnology company to replenish its development pipeline.

From: 
WSJ.com: Deal Journal

Biogen Idec Filibusters, With Drug Details, to Delay Shareholder Voting

06/16/2009 by Research Reloaded

Biogen Idec (BIIB) over-explained its drug development, then called for an extra long recess, in order to delay the shareholder vote whereby activist investor Carl Icahn was trying to repeat his success with Amylin (AMLN) Pharmaceuticals and add four representatives to Biogen Idec's board. It appears BIIB might have been contacting major institutional shareholders and trying to convince them to change their minds. Does the change of power for billion dollar companies really come down to whoever can delay a vote by boring an audience by talking amino acids all morning? Playground tactics in the world of biotech.

Nevertheless, in the end, Mr. Icahn managed to get two of his four nominees on the Biogen Idec board despite the Biogen filibuster. With the recent Amylin victory (added 2 board members there as well), Mr. Icahn is now clearly on a roll, undoubtedly helped by collapsed stock markets and biotech share prices which make any argument for management change more compelling. Still, the benefit of market sentiment aside, Icahn's victories are likely to be positive for AMLN and BIIB's future realization of value, and stock price performance. It's nice to know that someone with influence is clearly lined up with shareholder interests, given Mr. Icahn's sizeable stake. This is better than can be said for most companies.

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