China’s Ping An peacocks for its tech feathers 30 Apr 2018 The finance giant has raised over $1 bln in an IPO of its medical arm, says IFR, and three more spinoffs are in the works. Ping An wants to be seen as a tech titan, not a lumbering insurer. That’s a stretch but showing off its new economy divisions is a smart and valuable move.
Once-bitten merger arbitrageurs are twice Shire 27 Apr 2018 The $62 bln Takeda bid should in theory be an attractive hedge-fund plaything. A yawning gap between the offer value and the target's share price suggests otherwise. Multiple currencies and time zones act as deterrents. So too do the scars from Shire's deal with AbbVie.
Takeda’s stretch for Shire lets rivals limber up 25 Apr 2018 The Japanese drugmaker's fifth proposal for its Irish rival sweetens the bid to some $64 bln. The headline value, which uses a huge pile of stock for currency, is falling fast as Takeda shareholders recoil. That creates an opening for other suitors who can offer more hard cash.
Takeda pushes its globetrotting ambitions too far 23 Apr 2018 The Japanese drugmaker led by a French CEO added cash to a slightly sweeter $60 bln bid for Irish rival Shire. Takeda's target is cheap, but the big premium will be hard to justify. The deal also would flood the market with shares and ratchet up debt. It's all a big stretch.
Shire makes needy suitors work for risky bet 19 Apr 2018 The London-listed pharma group has rejected a 42 bln pound offer from Osaka-based Takeda, and may now face a bid from Botox-maker Allergan. Shire’s business has its challenges, but its would-be acquirers have strategic issues and need a deal. The risk of overpaying is going up.
P&G drug deal needs vitamin shot to persuade Peltz 19 Apr 2018 The U.S. consumer giant is paying 3.4 bln euros for the consumer arm of Germany’s Merck. For it to make sense P&G will have to crank up sales of Seven Seas vitamins while cutting out costs. Board member Nelson Peltz’s criticism of past acquisitions further raises the stakes.
Shire cancer sale boosts weak takeover defences 16 Apr 2018 The $47 bln drugmaker facing a potential bid from Takeda sold its cancer treatments for $2.4 bln. Shire’s debt and doubts over its business weaken its resistance. The best bet may be to show that a Takeda offer undervalues its business. But more radical surgery could be tricky.
Bayer investors get unwelcome antitrust present 10 Apr 2018 The German company has struck a deal with U.S. regulators to clear its $60 billion acquisition of seed group Monsanto, the Wall Street Journal reported. After EU approval in March, a two-year saga is almost over. Bayer’s sagging stock price means shareholders can hold the cheers.
Novartis $8.7 bln splurge balances risk and growth 9 Apr 2018 The Swiss drugmaker paid a near 90 pct premium for AveXis, which is developing a treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, weeks after selling its consumer drugs joint venture. Experimental drugs offer faster growth than painkillers but more risk. It’s a pricey way to boost revenue.
Walmart may have hit on healthy kind of disruption 30 Mar 2018 Merging with insurer Humana could put clinics in the U.S. retailer’s stores, keeping patients out of hospitals and insurance costs down. Walmart isn’t given to big acquisitions and $37 bln Humana wouldn’t come cheap. But a broader partnership could bring many of the benefits.
Takeda takes a turn at Shire’s risky M&A strategy 28 Mar 2018 The $42 bln Japanese drugs group may bid for $45 bln takeover machine Shire. There’s not much overlap, and uncertainties hang over key businesses. But Shire is cheap, and its shareholders exasperated. That may appeal to Takeda boss Christophe Weber, but it's also a warning.
Drug companies take the anti-Amazon pill 27 Mar 2018 Novartis is selling its consumer health assets to GSK for $13 bln. It makes sense for the former to focus on traditional drugs given the threat from e-commerce. For the latter, the purchase is less risky than a Pfizer deal and may still allow investment in its core business.
Reckitt may yet benefit from Pfizer’s poor timing 22 Mar 2018 The Dettol maker’s shares jumped after it pulled a bid for the U.S. group’s consumer arm. The auction coincided with CEO Rakesh Kapoor’s struggle to digest a big deal, and rival GSK’s need to focus elsewhere. If Pfizer delays the sale, Reckitt could limber up for a second shot.
Profit is only part of U.S. healthcare sickness 12 Mar 2018 America spends about 18 pct of GDP on healthcare – almost twice as much as most developed countries. Pricing to reward investors accounts for perhaps a fifth of this gap. High pay, fights over the spoils and the fetishization of costly high-tech medicine are other factors.
Cigna pays over the odds for uncertain benefit 8 Mar 2018 The insurer is paying $54 bln for pharmacy middleman Express Scripts in the latest healthcare consolidation move. Express’s business has stalled and the FDA’s campaign for drug-price transparency threatens its model. Cigna’s $13 bln premium is not a sure prescription for growth.
Akorn deal could crack M&A MAC nut 6 Mar 2018 Merger escape clauses are notoriously hard to trigger. Even performance woes at drugmaker Akorn aren’t enough for Fresenius to demand a discount on an agreed $4.3 bln tie-up. If the German healthcare group can prove Akorn misled regulators, though, it is a different story.
Sanofi’s M&A bloodlust comes at a high price 29 Jan 2018 The French group is buying blood disorder biotech Ablynx for 3.9 bln euros. That’s 50 pct more than rival Novo Nordisk bid, including protections against drug flops. Combined with last week’s $11.6 bln purchase of a haemophilia group, Sanofi’s new acquisitiveness lacks caution.
Sanofi’s $11.6 bln bid ups investor blood pressure 22 Jan 2018 The French pharma giant is buying U.S. haemophilia group Bioverativ at a whopping 64 pct premium. Sanofi reckons the returns will clear its hurdle rate in three years, but hasn’t explained how. Roche’s rival drug means the deal could end up like Shire’s ill-fated Baxalta swoop.
Celgene readies $10 bln mix of need and hope 17 Jan 2018 The drug group may buy Juno Therapeutics, a biotech promising ways to modify immune cells to fight cancer. The two already have a partnership, but Celgene needs to grow. If it’s also sensing real potential, it could pay an eye-watering price for a firm with no approved products.
Celgene puts shareholders on $7 bln M&A trial 8 Jan 2018 Buying privately held cancer specialist Impact Biomedicines may help the biotech giant refill its pipeline after recent drug flops. Insisting on a series of earnouts based on sales reduces risk. But Celgene needs more than a booster shot to cure longer-term ailments.