Bristol-Meyers Announces $74B Merger With Celgene In Deal Primed To Have Sweeping Implications For Drug Industry
In the first major pharmaceutical deal of 2019, Bristol-Myers Squibb says it will buy Celgene, a maker of cancer-fighting drugs, in a merger valued at $74 billion. According to Stat, Bristol-Myers has been under pressure to set a new course since August 2016, when a big study of its cancer immunotherapy, Opdivo, failed to show a benefit in previously untreated patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Analysts look at what the deal means to the industry at large.
The New York Times:
Bristol-Myers To Acquire Celgene In Deal Worth $74 Billion
Bristol-Myers Squibb said on Thursday that it would buy Celgene, a maker of cancer-fighting drugs, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $74 billion, the first major pharmaceutical deal of 2019. Between them, the two companies produce nine drugs with annual sales of more than $1 billion apiece, Bristol-Myers said in a statement. Bristol-Myers shareholders will own 69 percent of the combined entity; Celgene shareholders will own the rest. Celgene shareholders will get one Bristol-Myers share and $50 in cash for each Celgene share. The deal values Celgene shares at $102.43 apiece, a 53.7 percent premium on the stock’s closing price on Wednesday. (Hsu and Thomas, 1/3)
The Associated Press:
Bristol-Myers Squibb Buying Celgene In $74B Deal
Bristol would gain the cancer treatment Revlimid in the cash-and-stock deal announced Thursday, as well as inflammatory disease treatments and several products close to launching. The combined company will have nine products with more than $1 billion in annual sales. Bristol’s product portfolio already includes Orencia, an injected drug for rheumatoid arthritis, and the cancer treatment Opdivo. Bristol Chairman and CEO Giovanni Caforio said in a prepared statement that the combination will create a deep product portfolio that drives growth. (1/3)
Stat:
9 Big Takeaways From The $74 Billion Bristol-Celgene Deal
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Celgene wrested biotech from its post-holiday malaise with a proposed $74 billion merger, a plan that has sweeping implications for the drug industry as it grapples with declining fortunes, pressure over pricing, and nagging questions about its scientific productivity. Here are nine major takeaways from one of the biggest buyout in pharmaceutical history. (Garde, Feuerstein and Silverman, 1/3)
The Wall Street Journal:
Advances In Cancer Drugs Fuel Blockbuster Deal
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s blockbuster $74 billion deal to buy rival Celgene Corp. creates a cancer-drug powerhouse amid industrywide excitement about the rapidly evolving science and explosive growth of the sector. The agreement could signal a return of deal-making to the pharmaceutical industry as a whole, particularly in the $123 billion world-wide market for cancer drugs, now one of the biggest pharmaceutical sectors. Major scientific advances have led to groundbreaking new medicines, which in turn have created a commercial battlefield. (Hopkins, 1/3)
Bloomberg:
Celgene Holders Should Take The Money And Run, Street Says
Bristol-Myers Squibb’s $74 billion plan to acquire Celgene Corp. came as a surprise to the Street. “Take it!” Leerink analyst Geoffrey Porges advised Celgene investors, while Jefferies analyst Michael Yee called it a “great exit strategy” for battered shareholders. As the deal is in cash and stock, the premium will rise or decline in line with Bristol’s valuation. After a year in which Celgene lost almost 40 percent of its market value, shares rose as much as 32 percent Thursday, their biggest intraday gain since 1988. (Flanagan, 1/3)
Stat:
Why Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Giovanni Caforio Is Buying Celgene
With its announcement on Thursday that it will acquire biotech bellwether Celgene, Bristol-Myers Squibb has placed a very big bet: that it is worth $74 billion to combine its cancer drugs with Celgene’s. ...[Bristol Chairman and Chief Executive Giovanni] Caforio has been under pressure to set a new course since August 2016, when a big study of Bristol’s cancer immunotherapy, Opdivo, failed to show a benefit in previously untreated patients with non-small cell lung cancer, a particularly lucrative market. Opdivo has remained a huge success, but this gave an opening to rival Merck. (Herper, 1/3)
Bloomberg:
These Drugmakers May Be Ready To Make An M&A Splash In 2019
Biotechnology investors who eagerly waited for a much-hyped takeover boom in 2018 just got their gift of the new year -- Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. agreeing to buy Celgene Corp. for $74 billion in cash and stock. As health care-focused investors hunt for innovative and fairly valued stocks, heavyweights from Bristol-Myers to AbbVie Inc. have been under pressure to make a deal. After a sector-wide slide punished high-flying small- and mid-cap stocks, the difference between bid and ask prices may be narrower than in the last few years, specialists say. (Lipschultz, 1/3)
