Drug giant Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) said late Wednesday it planned to buy partner Medarex (NASDAQ:MEDX) for $2.4 billion.
Bristol-Myers will pay $16 in cash for each share of Princeton, N.J.-based Medarex. After adjusting for the roughly $300 million on Medarex’s books, the implied purchase price comes to $2.1 billion.
The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, represents a premium of more than 90% to Medarex’s closing price on Wednesday of $8.40.
“Medarex’s technology platform, people and pipeline provide a strong complement to our company’s biologics strategy, specifically in immuno-oncology,” said Bristol-Myers Chairman and CEO James Cornelius.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, Bristol-Myers will commence a cash tender offer on or about July 27, 2009 to purchase all of the outstanding shares of Medarex common stock. The deal is expected to close 30 days later, pending regulatory approval.
Bristol-Myers was advised by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) in connection with the acquisition, while Medarex was advised by JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM).
The announcement comes a day before Bristol-Myers is slated to release its Q2 earnings. The drug company is expected to report $0.47 EPS.
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Medarex shareholders have taken extrordinary risks over the years with this company. Now that Medarex is about to capitalize on its pipeline, BMS is offering medarex shareholders a fraction of what this company is truly worth
The fact that Medarex management negotiated and accepted an offer of $16.00 dollars per-share is an outrage.
Considering the long-term benefits to BMS and the fact that Ulti-mab antibody platform is the Gold Standard in human antibody technology, it is clear to me that Medarex Management should have attempted to obtain a better price for their shareholders.
Depending on many factor BMS stands to make between 6 and 10 billion dollars and possibly more over the next decade, as antibodies generated by medarex technology achieve market status.
The fact that Mr. Pien, current Medarex CEO isgoing to be paid a muti-million dollar bonus is very disconcerting outrage as well.Medarex shareholders can do better than this