Will Andreotti Merge Bristol-Myers Squibb?
3 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // March 3rd, 2010 // 8:15 am
For the past couple of years, Wall Street was periodically filled with speculation that Bristol-Myers Squibb would look to merge. A regular possibility named was Eli Lilly, partly because Bristol-Myers chief executive Jim Cornelius is a former Lilly exec and maintains ties to Indianapolis, where Lilly is headquartered.
Of course, that hasn’t happened and now, as expected, Cornelius, 66, is vacating the corner office and being replaced by Lamberto Andreotti, 59, who has spent 12 years at the drugmaker, most recently as president and chief operating officer (see statement). But he faces the same problem - the loss of $11 billion in revenue to generic competition by 2016, notably the Plavix bloodthinner in 2012.
To prepare for this patent cliffhanger, Cornelius touted a ’string of pearls’ plan, which amounted to buying or licensing his way out of the problem, such as with the Medarex acquistion. There are also cutbacks totaling $2.5 billion under way. And there was the spin off the Mead Johnson baby formula business. For his part, Andreotti reportedly plans to increase the number of purchases and try to reshape the company faster. But the fundamental issue remains and Andreotti may face the same dilemma - whether to pursue a merger.
doc
Just don’t see any way BMY can go it alone, the Plavix cliff will not be offset to any significant degree by the “string of pearls”, then Abilify goes not too long after Plavix. Major headcount reductions, could hold merger at bay for a while, but eventually Lamberto will most likely need to merge.
Former Big Pharma
Absolutely! It’s the only way for Big pharma to make huge gobs of money for their top executives! Laying off thousands of employees and shutting down multiple sites at your own company just doesn’t generate the big bucks anymore. Therefore, merge with another company and double the cuts and the money for the big shots.
pharmavet
Hello, is anybody awake out there? These guys are brought in BECAUSE they are takeover specialists. Just google “Chainsaw” Al Dunlap, Fred Hasssan, etc. This is the perfect setup for ex Lilly man Jim Cornelius to now work behind the scenes to work a merger with Lilly and keep his hands clean. No doubt in my mind whatsoever this will happen in 2010. The only sticking point will be dealing with Indiana’s anti hostile takeover laws once the will of the shareholders has been made known.