And The Latest Rumored Bidder For Shire Is…
3 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // March 18th, 2008 // 7:51 am
Shire Pharmaceutical shares rose more than 8 percent in trading - the most in 17 months - after UBS analysts decided that AstraZeneca may be interested in making a bid, Bloomberg News reports. The stock gained 5 percent last Friday on market speculation that Pfizer may make a bid. Clearly, some people believe Shire is in play.
Like every big drugmaker, AstraZeneca needs new meds to boost revenue as generics threaten sales of some of its biggest drugs. The problem is underscored by three pending lawsuits against generic drugmakers seeking to sell copies of the best-selling Nexium ulcer treatment. Shire, of course, sells attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drugs - Adderall XR, which brought in $1 billion last year, as well as Vyvanse and Daytrana.
“AstraZeneca can pay…greater than a 40 percent premium, and achieve an economically accretive acquisition,” UBS analyst Gbola Amusa and colleagues wrote in a note to clients today, Bloomberg reports. “A financial deal could boost margins and give AstraZeneca better comparisons relative to peers.”
Shire spokeswoman Jessica Mann wouldn’t comment on what she termed market speculation, and Bloomberg wrote that calls to AstraZeneca spokesman Steve Brown weren’t immediately returned.
ol cranky
AZ shouldn’t be considered a major player in this yet since they’re stretched a bit thin after the ill-advised purchase of Medimmune.
Chris
I believe you’re right but I think there are some institutions that would like to see AZ pull off something of this scale. Why: Revenues, UK base, somewhat complementary portfolio, and good share price appreciation over last 12 months. (I know, I missed the low!) I don’t have any inside track but watch closely - there’s enough available money doing nothing post sub-prime horrors that this could get done. And that would push the over-priced Medimmune deal a bit further from front of mind.
ol cranky
from what I’ve been hearing lately, the AZ/Shire deal may go through. I wonder how that will play with AZs pending layoffs in med affairs and marketing
Am I the only one that thinks the governments should p put a stop to the mega mergers and even big pharma buying mid-sized companies? none of this is good for consumers, drug development or the economy (it’s only good for the executives and stock-holders)