Do Confidentiality Agreements Signal an Impending Medivation Acquisition?

Medivation Inc. (NASDAQ: MDVN) made waves early Wednesday following the announcement of confidentiality agreements after rejecting an acquisition proposal from Sanofi. Over the past three months, France-based Sanofi has been pursuing Medivation, but the company has been reluctant in responding to these offers. However things could be changing with these confidentiality agreements.

The company announced that it has entered into confidentiality agreements with a number of parties that have expressed interest in exploring a potential transaction and demonstrated that interest to the board of directors’ satisfaction. Medivation also confirmed that it entered into a confidentiality agreement with Sanofi and that Sanofi agreed to terminate its consent solicitation.

Prior to entering into the confidentiality agreements, Sanofi made an acquisition offer that Medivation’s board unanimously rejected. The proposal, which was conditional upon the execution of a confidentiality agreement and the receipt of information, was for $58.00 per share in cash plus a contingent value right for talazoparib sales representing a potential payment in 2022 of a maximum of $3.00 per share.

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Despite rejecting the most recent offer, Medivation has still not left the table in a sense. Some might even believe that these confidentiality agreements are signaling that a deal is in sight.

Kim Blickenstaff, chair of Medivation’s board of directors, commented:

Medivation has significant scarcity value as one of the only profitable, commercial-stage oncology companies, and management has been successfully executing a strategy that is generating outstanding returns for our stockholders. At the same time, our Board remains committed to objectively considering all avenues that may enhance our ability to deliver superior value. Our decision to enter into these agreements is consistent with our focus on stockholder interests, and will allow interested parties to fully understand the significant value of our XTANDI franchise and the enormous potential of our pipeline, including talazoparib, our promising, potential best-in-class PARP inhibitor.

Shares of Medivation popped 1.4% to $62.64 right after Wednesday’s open. The consensus analyst price target is $64.06, and the 52-week trading range of $26.41 to $62.94.

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