High-Premium Biotech M&A Continues (AMGN, CELG, MITI, IBB)

Health and Healthcare

Published: January 26, 2012 5:08 pm

Last Updated: April 27, 2020 10:56 pm

Thursday brought yet more merger and acquisition news in the ongoing buyout trends in the biotech sector. Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) announced that it is going to acquire Micromet, Inc. (NASDAQ: MITI), a cancer drug maker that is German and American. Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) announced that it was going to acquire an outfit called Avila Therapeutics, a developer of cancer drugs.

The Micromet deal is valued at $11.00 per share. This was a 33% premium to the prior close and shares closed up 32% at $10.94. The prior 52-week range was $4.13 to $8.90. Unfortunately for M&A arbitrage players, this deal offers no real upside in an arb-spread and it seems unlikely that a higher bid is coming based upon its share price never having gone above $11.00 today. That buyout is on the heels of a deal signed last year where Amgen agreed to an upfront payment for a discovery and development deal. Amgen is indicated around $69 after turning in 3% sales growth after the close.

Avila Therapeutics is a developer of covalent drugs in cancer and this $925 million buyout from Celgene is a cash and stock deal with $350 million of the total coming in cash. This company has AVL-292 as a inhibitor now in Phase I studies. Celgene shares are around $72.65 and are also with striking distance of a 52-week high ($75.11).

It is interesting that with two deals already having been announced in the last 24-hours that the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology (NASDAQ: IBB) ETF was down by almost 1% at $114.71 on a day when there were two deals on the heels of another large premium acquisition this week.

JON C. OGG

The Average American Has No Idea How Much Money You Can Make Today ^(Sponsor)

The last few years made people forget how much banks and CD’s can pay. Meanwhile, interest rates have spiked and many can afford to pay you much more, but most are keeping yields low and hoping you won’t notice.

But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying almost 10x the national average! That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe and earn more at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 3.80% with a Checking & Savings Account today Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.

Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes to open an account to make your money work for you.

Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 4.00% with a Checking & Savings Account from Sofi. Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.

¹https://www.fdic.gov/national-rates-and-rate-caps