Biotechnology

Biogen is a risky $90 bln buyout target

3 Aug 2016

The biotech giant could be available, with its CEO stepping down, and potential acquirers are circling. Closing the gap between the Alzheimer's drug optimism built into Biogen's valuation and an acceptable price for a buyer may, however, prove a challenge too far.

India pharma deal suggests Fosun is an M&A junkie

29 Jul 2016

The Chinese conglomerate's drug unit is buying India's Gland Pharma for up to $1.3 bln. Shortages should boost prices of injectable drugs in the U.S., a key market for the KKR-backed group. Either way, Fosun's latest deal binge jars with its promise to cut debt.

Healthcare M&A rocked by seemingly unbreakable deal

28 Jul 2016

Several industry mergers have fallen foul of tax rules and antitrust concerns. Yet Abbott's $5.8 bln bid for Alere has so far resisted the diagnostics firm's restatements, product recalls and subpoenas over Medicare billing and overseas sales. It's a deal that needs to die.

Monsanto may be overestimating independence

19 Jul 2016

The U.S. crop giant rejected Bayer's latest $64 bln takeover offer, calling it "financially inadequate." To achieve the $125 a share on offer on its own over three years would be tough, however, even with aggressive assumptions. Monsanto boss Hugh Grant is protesting too much.

Bayer’s modest bump puts target Monsanto on spot

14 Jul 2016

The German chemical giant raised its offer for the American seed purveyor to $64 bln, including debt. It's a token $2 bln increase from Bayer's initial bid. That should scotch hopes that Bayer will go a lot higher. For Monsanto boss Hugh Grant, decision time is fast approaching.

Monsanto-BASF talks smell like a red herring

14 Jul 2016

The besieged U.S. seedmaker is reportedly in talks about buying the German group's agrochemicals unit. A deal could see off Bayer's $62 bln bid for Monsanto. Persuading BASF to sell will be tricky. Still, the gambit might be a way of forcing Bayer to sweeten its offer.

Prognosis is good for China’s healthcare market

13 Jul 2016

Drugmaker and pharmacist CR Pharma is targeting a $1 bln-plus Hong Kong flotation. Healthcare offers investors an antidote to the slow growth that plagues much of China's old economy, since a richer, older country will need more and more drugs. Expect other big deals to follow.  

Take Sanofi’s bid sweetener with pinch of salt

6 Jul 2016

The French pharmaceuticals group is dangling a so-called contingent value right in its richer $11 bln offer for Medivation. A similar special payout predicated on a drug's success helped Sanofi seal a deal for Genzyme in 2011. The result there should give the latest target pause.

Cancer breakthroughs bring financial side effects

15 Jun 2016

New therapies using the immune system may someday turn cancer into a chronic, not deadly, condition. They may also cause drug spending to triple. The next U.S. president might avoid action – but the increasing fiscal strain makes price controls or harder negotiations inevitable.

New CEO kitchen-sinks Valeant hangover

7 Jun 2016

Joseph Papa says some of the troubled $8 bln drug firm’s businesses are doing fine. But weak earnings and yet another downgrade sent the stock plunging on Tuesday. At under 10 pct of its peak value last year, the new boss will be trying to persuade investors the only way is up.

Bitter Pill: The Wild Rise and Fall of Valeant Pharmaceuticals

6 Jun 2016

As the embattled drugmaker embarks on its next phase under new CEO Joseph Papa, Breakingviews chronicles the financial razzle-dazzle that got the company into the mess in the first place. The ride all the way up to a $90 bln valuation and back down has been a wild one.

Valeant may strain to engineer way out the in door

6 Jun 2016

As the embattled drugmaker prepares to report its first results under a new CEO, it’s also seeking a new business model beyond acquisitions and price hikes. Financial razzmatazz sometimes works both ways, but Valeant’s debt and possible suitors could make it hard science.

J&J’s corpulence defense weighs heavy

2 Jun 2016

The bulging healthcare conglomerate is swallowing hair-care firm Vogue for $3.3 bln in defiance of calls to break up. J&J’s $312 bln market value makes it a hard target for activists. Yet its obesity has created ailments from poor M&A digestion to mediocre shareholder returns.

Bayer’s Monsanto bid yields poor financial harvest

27 May 2016

The German chemicals group’s rejected $62 bln offer for the seed maker already appeared to violate one of its key principles: stick to projects whose returns beat the cost of capital. Upping the price to win over Monsanto would take heroic sales-growth assumptions to stack up.

AstraZeneca glitch cements M&A discount

27 May 2016

A blockbuster drug the UK group bought in a $2.7 bln deal has been delayed. The production glitch could mean just a few months holdup, but highlights why Astra trades at a lower valuation than peers. Buying and selling businesses is a risky way to manage a looming patent cliff.

Monsanto can push Bayer only so far

24 May 2016

The U.S. seed producer rejected a $62 bln offer from the German chemical giant, but said it was open to talks. Bayer’s shareholders reacted poorly to the initial bid while Monsanto investors are skeptical about chances for a deal. Negotiating power is limited on both sides.

Bayer’s synergy hopes fall on stony ground

24 May 2016

The German pharma group’s stock fell more than $14 billion as it made an approach for U.S. seed maker Monsanto. It’s almost as much as the premium Bayer is offering, and suggests shareholders expect next to no cost savings. The deal looks value destructive, but that seems harsh.

BASF best leaving Monsanto seeds for the birds

19 May 2016

Bayer’s bid for the U.S. seed maker puts its German rival on the spot. Monsanto and BASF work together on research and there are few other potential merger partners. Yet the maths of a $50 bln-plus counterbid would be a stretch. BASF has sat out other big deals; it can again.

Cox: Pfizer death-row move serves investors, too

16 May 2016

The drugmaker best known for trying to dodge taxes and cure erectile dysfunction will restrict use of its compounds in executions. A bit like Google’s doing with payday lenders or CVS did with tobacco, it’s a moral stance made easier by ultimately reducing risk for shareholders. 

Pfizer’s $5.2 bln Anacor bid dodges bigger issue

16 May 2016

The drug giant may have bagged a good deal for the maker of eczema and toenail fungus remedies – assuming Anacor gets all needed approvals and sales soar. Bolt-on acquisitions can be helpful, but the important question for $200 bln Pfizer remains: will boss Ian Read break it up?