While much of the focus in the pharmaceutical and biotech sector has been on whether or not Hillary Clinton will ascend to the
White House, it's hard to ignore the flurry of deals taking being done. Not to mention some of the premiums being paid.
For example, last Wednesday Allergan plc Ordinary Shares(NYSE: AGN), after recently being a target of takeover, purchased Vitae
Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: VTAE) for $21 per
share, or a 160 percent premium to its previous closing price of $8.10.
Related Link: Allergan's
Tobira Acquisition Represents The Highest Premium Ever Paid In Biopharma
When a sector starts to heat up for deals, there's usually a catalyst that gets the ball rolling. In this instance, it certainly
may be the fierce competition for the rights to purchase Medivation Inc (NASDAQ: MDVN).
As it turns out, the deal went off much higher than Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE)'s initial bid of $65. In fact, the deal was done at $81.50 per share equating to
$14 billion. The reason for that being as many as four other companies joined in the bidding process. It should be noted that this
was a sizable deal and other companies that joined the bidding war aren't small players in the industry.
As a result, those other companies looking to do acquisitions have turned to other companies in the sector. Whether or not
Allergan was one of the companies rebuffed in the Medivation, it's obvious the sector is heating and there may be many more deals
on the horizon.
Last week, Citigroup speculated Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: SGYP) may be a likely target for Takeda. The firm noted commentary
in the Financial Times regarding Takeda's appetite for U.S.-based acquisitions.
This Week's Deals ... A Trend Continued
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